Wolf in the Sand
by ahilty
Summary: Wasn't one monster in the family enough? Did the Sand Siblings really need another every month at the time of the full moon...
1. Chapter 1

An Author's Note: If you have read any of my other work you might say that this thing that I am writing here resembles a certain early work called "The Beasts of South Park" (yeah, I know, have to get back on the ball on that). And, you would be right about it. What can I say? I happen to like werewolves (as long as they are not pedowolves). Sue me. No, in fact, don't do that. I make minimum wage. Wouldn't be worth it.

Anyway, I am new the Naruto fandom in general, though I have started to read the manga and watch a little of the show (mostly reading the manga, though, due to the fact that I work in a library. Handy, no?). So, any inconsistencies you find are mine.

I don't own Naruto. If I did, there would be much less Saskue and a bunch more Sand ninjas. In fact...if I owned the series would probably be about the Sand ninjas. And Emo Boy would get a kunei to the face.

On that note, enjoy.

Chapter One

Attack in the Night

Night in the desert was a beautiful time. You could see every single star and name every single constellation in the wide, open expanse. The only feature that could be seen, besides mounds and mounds of sand dunes, was the scraggly tree line in the distance that marked the border between Suna and Konoha.

However, stargazing was not on the schedule tonight.

It had been a while since Gaara, the Kazekage, had been on a mission of any type with his two siblings. Most Kages didn't go on missions, though it was not totally unheard of. In this case Gaara felt it was necessary. After all, it had only been recently that the demon inside him, Shukaku, had been taken from him. Testing himself in a real mission seemed like a good idea. He had been training almost every day since "the incident" (that is what everyone seemed to be calling it), but training and actual combat were two different things, and Gaara was determined to make sure that he still could preform in case of a crisis. Better to make sure he was fit for combat in a mission beforehand, then have an emergency in Suna and find himself lacking.

And it was not often that he could spend quality time with Temari and Kankuro, seeing as how Temari was spending most of her time on diplomatic missions, Gaara was almost always busy with his new greatest enemy: the paper work, and Kankuro was...doing whatever it was puppeteers did while not on missions. Gaara really had no clue, seeing as how the puppeteers were almost as secretive about their inner workings as the Konoha ANBU were. He had a suspicious feeling it might have something to do with reviving more dead people. You never knew. They were kinda creepy.

However, this mission was a concern for both nations. The Suna council had not be entirely happy that their leader was going to be off for a night fighting...whatevertheyweres, but could really not complain to much about a Kazekage that was willing to go out and defend Suna's interests out in the field.

"So where are the attacks occurring, precisely?" Gaara turned to look at Temari, who had spread out a map on the desert floor. It depicted not only the Land of Wind, but also the surrounding countries.

"From what I heard, there have been several of them, mostly directly on the border between us and Konoha." Temari pointed at the general area. "I heard some rumors that there might have been more in the Land of Rain as well, but they really aren't talking much. It's not missing-nin, unless they have started to run around on all fours and leave big dog tracks."

"And you are telling me that Leaf ninjas still can't find these things? Even with their best trackers?" Kankuro snorted.

Temari shrugged "From what I hear all the dog boys could smell was wolf. Not demon or even chakra, just a bunch of wolf. And no one can seem to sense anything from the attack sites."

"The last attack was here, in Suna, on one of our oasis towns." Gaara said grimly "And not just livestock this time. From what I heard the entire place was torn to pieces. It is obvious these creatures, human or otherwise, have no respect for borders. It it not just one kingdom's problem."

Gaara grimaced. The Land of Rain was being annoyingly contrary about this entire deal. Almost from the start of the attacks Suna and Konoha had began to work together, even though joint teams of Sand and Leaf ninja had turned up nothing. The Land of Rain, on the other hand, refused to even admit that any of its villages had been attacked, though the rumors kept flying over the border at a scary rate.

With the Rain ninjas acting like there was nothing wrong it seemed like it was up to the Leaf and Sand ninjas to get to the bottom of this. They couldn't cross over to the Rain lands, but the search was still going on in other kingdoms. With word that the last attack had been on Suna land that meant they could search without having to worry to much about passports and such. Both Suna and Konoha had agreed to let their various ninjas cross the borders unimpeded because of the attacks. After all, if there enemy did not respect the border then it made no sense for a ninja to sit around waiting for clearance and such while their prey happily skipped over a border and then vanished.

That had happened at least three times to Naruto. Every time the thing he had been chasing had crossed a Rain/Fire border. This, of course, just served to piss Naruto off more and more.

"So, when are they going to meet us?" Kankuro asked, already becoming slightly bored. They were supposed to be meeting three Leaf ninja here: Kakashi, Neji and Hinata. Kakashi because of his ninja dogs and the two Hyugas because, even though the Byakugan seemed to be useless, the Leaf ninjas seemed to think that if they kept trying the thing it might work. They thought that if they caught the trail fresh enough then they would have to find something.

Gaara was not so sure anymore. Although everyone in the Leaf village and half of Suna thought that the culprits were using some sort of genjutsu, no one could detect any type of chakra in the area. Gaara was certain that whatever the culprits were using it was something that had never been encountered before. It was very disconcerting.

Gaara was about to speak when everything went quite. Now, the desert is a fairly quite place, but that does not mean that it is devoid of noise. There were plenty of creatures making some sort of buzz or chirp or squeak in the night, but now, all of a sudden, they stopped.

This might as well have been an alarm bell to the three Sand ninjas. Gaara shut his mouth and listened hard.

Hard listening, however, turned out to be a tad redundant. The howls that began echoing through the night were loud and clear. Not to mention the fact that there were multiple voices awowowowowing out there.

"Seeing as how we doing get large packs of wolves out here I suspect that might be our creatures." Kankuro said with a nasty grin.

Gaara nodded "Temari, think you can spot them?"

Temari nodded. Within a few moments she was up in the air on her fan. After circling around a few times she was back.

"I see something. About ten of them. They are right on the border heading east. I can't really see what they look like, but they are not running like any wolf I ever saw."

"Human then?" Gaara asked.

"Well...if they are then they are very large and hairy people. It's really hard to describe."

"Well, we wanted a fresh trail. Not going to get any fresher then this." Kankuro said.

"Temari, see if you can find Kakashi's group and lead them to us. Kankuro, you and I are going after them." Gaara said.

Temari flew away and Kankuro and Gaara began heading towards the howls. Gaara glanced at his older brother. Kankuro had only just manged to fix one of his puppets, the Crow, after his battle with Sasori. Although Gaara knew Kankuro had somehow manged to get a hold of the former puppet master's discarded shell, Kankuro was, apparently making 'adjustments' to it, and the other two puppets were still being repaired. So, it was just Kankuro and the Crow. Gaara was not to concerned, though. The Crow had always served Kankuro well enough in the past. The fact that it failed in their last battle was just bad luck, not any reflection on Kankuro's abilities with his puppets.

Soon desert sand gave way to the tree line. Now the two ninja could hear the crashing and banging and howling in front of them quite clearly.

"Not big on stealth are they?" Kankuro grinned.

Their prey _was_ making a lot of noise...almost as if.

Gaara stopped abruptly. "Wait a minute-" Something, it looked like a small piece of circler wood, was just sitting there on the forest floor...almost as if...

The thing blew up. A small explosion of flashing light and smoke. Thankfully, they had caught on early enough. Gaara could see the forest literally lighting up in front of them, though none of the explosions touched either ninja.

"Guess they really aren't just animals after all." Kankuro noted.

"They've probably doubled back." Gaara said, listening hard. It was true, the prey were not just animals. And, if they were smart enough to lay traps like this, then this entire thing had to have been a set up.

To bad the beasts were up against ninjas, or it might have even worked.

"Hey, Gaara, you hear that?" Kankuro said. Gaara nodded. It was...chanting? Some sort of bizarre, guttural, deep throated language that Gaara could not even began to decipher. He and Kankuro stood back to back, each one preparing for whatever attack they would be facing next.

A sudden rustling and it appeared. Leaping out of the bushes like a furry missile, the beast came at them. It was large, about twice Kankuro's hight and twice as wide, though not fat by any means. In the shadows it was hard to make out, but it was hairy and smelly. It stood on its hind legs like a man, but it had the head of a wolf. It looked at them with mad, red and yellow eyes and lunged at Gaara.

Though Gaara no longer had his automatic sand shield he could still manipulate the sand. He quickly formed three sand spears and hurled them at the beast. To Gaara's surprise the wolf batted them away and kept right on coming. Focusing as hard as he could he formed a sand shield over himself as the beast hit him with the force of an onrushing train. The thing slashed with its claws and ripped through the sand like it was not even there. Gaara was stunned. He knew his powers had been greatly reduced, but this! This was unbelievable! He could feel the things' claws ripping into his shoulder and blood starting to drip down his arm. Gaara was to busy being astounded to do anything more.

"Gaara!" Kankuro lunged at the beast...but Gaara knew that was defiantly not Kankuro. No, his brother was once again preforming his oldest and most reliable trick. It was not really Kankuro that was lunging at the beast, but the puppet Crow. When the beast turned to attack what it thought was Kankuro it would find itself facing a trap-laden puppet. The real Kankuro was right now tied to the back of his puppet.

Gaara was disappointed in his sand's feebleness, but he did not expect Kankuro to fail.

Only...

When the Crow dove at the beast Gaara expected the wolf to attack the puppet. And indeed when the wolf caught the Crow in midair and drove it to the ground Gaara expected this fight would turn out just as all of Kankuro's previous ones had turned out. However, the wolf did something unexpected. It tore into the bandages on the Crow's back and with one swift motion hurled a very surprised Kankuro out of his hiding place and directly into a tree.

At first Gaara could not believe this was happening. Sure, Kankuro had only brought one puppet...but surely the thing that the wolf had tossed had not been his brother? No one had ever manged to pick out Kankuro from his puppets! His brother was a master at this type of genjutsu...

But these creatures did not seem to be following the rules, were they?

The creature leaned over Kankuro, sniffing him as if it was trying to make sure that, yes, this was indeed an ninja and not another puppet. Or, you know, a log. Then, to Gaara's anger the creature grabbed Kankuro and ran off into the shadows.

Gaara glared at the retreating figures. There was no way he was going to let this stand! Pausing a moment to wrap some cloth around his arm he began to follow the creature's trail as best he could.

Kankuro had been stunned by his meeting with the tree. Literally stunned. It did not help things that, when he awoke, he could not see a thing. Some enterprising someone had both blindfolded him and tied his hands behind his back.

Also, there was more of that chanting going on.

That was not a good sign. That was so not a good sign.

He heard something whimper, then a pained yelp. The chanting grew in volume.

Gritting his teeth, Kankuro tried to wriggle his hands around to loosen the bindings. Apparently someone was watching him, because he was abruptly kicked in the stomach. He doubled over in pain.

Okay, so that was not going to work. Maybe a substitution?

But before he could do anything he was grabbed and hauled to his feet. What felt like the mouth of a bottle was pressed against his mouth. He grunted. They wanted him to drink something? A poison maybe? Oh that was not going to happen!

He turned his head away, but a pair of huge hairy hands gripped his pounding head and held him still. Even as he struggled his mouth was pried open and something was poured in.

Blood! They were forcing him to drink blood! Gross! Despite his best efforts a bit of the stuff got down his throat. Apparently it was enough. For a few moments his body went totally limp and he could not move, even though he wanted to. The only thing that seemed to be working was his throat, and that was busy working the...blood down into his stomach.

Then the pain hit. It felt like being repeatably stabbed in the gut with a dagger. Kankuro doubled over in pain. The creatures dropped him to the ground. He tried to stand, or at least sit up, but a terrible weakness had overcome him and all he could do was writhe and moan in pain.

He felt someone pat him on the head, as if trying to comfort him, then he heard dismissing, patronizing laughter and more words in that horrible language. It sounded like they were mocking him. Then crashing noises and the beasts left him there in the woods.

Then, silence.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Full Moon

Temari had manged to find the three Leaf ninjas in record time. It helped that the Leafs had heard the howling as well. Kakashi had summoned his dog pack, who were already on the trail when Temari spotted them. She swooped down and hovered above them.

"I see you found the trail." She said wryly.

"Where are the other two?" Neji asked, not pausing a step as he ran after the ninja dogs.

"They went after the beasts."

All of a sudden Hinata gasped. She had activated the Byakugan, determined not to miss anything this time (the fact that her families ability had failed to bring any results had frustrated her). "T-temari! Your brother!"

"What?" Temari felt dread. What in the world had her two younger siblings gotten into this time? It seemed like they got into trouble a lot these days. Way to much in her opinion.

"The creatures, t-they have Kankuro." Hinata replied "It..." she frowned, now more puzzled then concerned. "It looked like they are making him drink something. I'm not sure what."

"Not to mention the dead dog." Neji also had his Byakugan activated. "At least I think it's dog. Something canine, at least."

Temari groaned. These days everyone seemed to want to poison her little brother in some way. She really didn't believe in karma, but she could not help but wonder if the universe was somehow playing an odd joke on the boy who loved to use poisons on his weapons so much.

Although want she really wanted to do was find the nearest wolf thing and hit it repeatedly over the head with her fan, she knew that running ahead of the group would be a rather stupid thing to do.

"Strange. I am looking right at one of the creatures," Neji was frowning. "but I can't see its chakra."

"I can't either." Now Hinata was also frowning. "Odd. Even i-if they were not using any jutsu there should at least be something...wait...Neji, look at the one on the far right. Do you see it?"

Neji nodded.

"Well? Care to share with the rest of the class?" Temari asked tersely.

"It looks...this sounds absolutely ridiculous, but one of the creatures appears to have a bag. It's glowing."

"...glowing?"

"When we try to use our Byakugan to see chakra we see nothing when we look at the bodies of. these things. But there is something in that bag that one has that his giving off some sort of energy. It doesn't look like chakra energy though."

"What is happening to my brother?" Temari asked.

"He's just lying there now. It appears as if he is in pain. Kakashi, we must speed up! It looks like they are going to leave!" Neji growled.

Temari growled. She could fly there faster then these guys could move...but...

"Hey, Hyuga, you get airsick?" she asked Neji. He seemed the more stable of the two Byakugan users.

"No." he said. That was all he could say when Temari scooped him up and started upwards.

"We'll cut them off, then!" Temari shouted.

Neji muttered something, but Temari was not listening. "Okay, where are they heading?"

The Leaf ninja muttered again and pointed off into the distance. "That way."

Temari used her wind to propel herself and Neji forwards. Though there was a bit more drag now that she was carrying a passenger they were still making better time now.

"Must you go so high?" Neji asked.

"Height is good for distance. I thought you said you didn't get airsick."

"I don't, but you are going very high."

"And this is why there is no Temari Air Service. Don't be a backseat flier, Hyuga."

"Temari..."

"Look, if you are going to throw up or something, do it over the side. Don't mess up my fan or me."

"It is not that, the beasts are gone."

"...What?"

"They have vanished. The one with the bag took out something. There was a flash and they were gone."

"I thought you could track them with the Byakugan!"

"...I can't see any trace of them or there powers now. Nothing. It is as if...they were never there."

Temari gritted her teeth. "Then we have to investigate the site. Where were they last?"

"In the clearing with the dead animal and your brother. Over there."

Temari dove towards the area. She heard Neji's sharp intake of breath.

Finally they had reached their destination, and Neji jumped off the fan with a small sigh of relief. There was no way he was ever going to do something like that again! It was not really the height or the speed that had bothered him, but Temari...well let us just say that it was a good thing that the sky did not have many occupants. Plus, the thing had felt...rickety.

Temari saw her brother laying on the ground, blindfolded, tied up and moaning in pain. She wanted to go to him, but years of Sand training was hard to break, and that training demanded that one take care of the mission before concerning oneself over teammates.

Then again...Kankuro was really the only witness to this, right?

With that rationalization done, she went over to Kankuro and knelt down. She could sense Neji looking around in the background, and she knew that he was studying the area. Fine, let him. He was smart enough not to bungle it up.

"Kankuro, are you okay? What happened?" she removed the blindfold and untied him. As soon as his hands were free Kankuro groaned and clutched his stomach.

"I...they...they made me drink..." Kankuro winched as a wave of agony overtook his body.

"What?"

"Blood. It was blood." he said, barely above a whisper. "Oh God Temari, it hurts."

"Come look at this, Temari." Neji called. Growling in frustration, Temari turned and gasped.

Neji was examining something large and furry and dog shaped. But it was no dog. It was a wolf. A very dead wolf with a large cut in its neck. All of a sudden Temari put the pieces together.

Those freaks had killed this poor animal for its blood...and made her brother drink it.

"Temari! Kankuro!" Temari turned and saw Gaara emerging from the bushes. He looked ready to kill something (and Temari guessed that someone would be furry). He looked at the odd scene. At his brother writhing on the ground in pain, at his sister just standing there looking poleaxed and the Leaf ninja standing over a dead wolf.

"What is going on here..." he muttered.

* * *

Seeing as how there was no trail to follow and that Kankuro was still suffering from severe stomach pain, the group decided that the best thing to do was to get Kankuro to a doctor. Gaara was not comfortable with taking them to Konoha, even though it was closer. Not with strange wolf things running around. Even though it had been his idea to go out in the first place that idea was starting to look more and more stupid the further the night went on. What if these things attacked while he was gone? And he was not about to leave his brother in the hands of a foreign village, even though he did trust the Leaf ninjas. It just did not feel right. So that night he and Temari rushed Kankuro back home. It was dawn by the time they arrived, and they had gone straight to the hospital.

The three Leaf ninjas were going back to their village to report to the Hokage. Kakashi did, however, mention that he was going to insist that the Leaf village send another team to Suna to support them during this crisis. Although he knew how proud the Sand ninjas were, the simple fact was the Suna did not have as many high level ninjas as the Leaf. This had a lot to do with the Sand village's old training techniques and policies. The Sand ninjas had been a brutal lot with there own kind, and many young ninja from the old days of Gaara's father's rule simply did not survive it. Even though Gaara had made attempts to change the training methods so there were less casualties, the fact was there were still less Sand ninjas then Leaf ones.

And, as Temari had helpfully pointed out, not even they could cover all the ground necessary all at once. That was pretty much physically impossible. And since the Leaf ninjas were their allies in this it made since that the land with the more troops would reinforce the area with the least amount.

It was smart.

It was logical.

Gaara was going to have a very long, hard night convincing the council of this.

Gaara shifted uncomfortably as the Suna medical nin properly bandaged his injured arm. He was always uncomfortable in hospitals. He had very rarely went to them as a young child, and they always seemed so...depressing. And even a bit scary. He especially did not like the smell. It was strange, and he didn't like it. However, he was not about to complain about it. He was not a child, and this was necessary.

Temari was leaning against a wall, staring at the floor and brooding. Neither of them were allowed to see Kankuro when he was being examined by the doctors, so she was here to support her other brother. She wished her siblings would stop getting injured at the same time. It was not like she could split herself in two.

"Lord Kazekage?" a doctor entered the room with a chart in hand, a puzzled look on his face.

"Yes, is this about Kankuro?" Gaara asked, outwardly calm, but inwardly in turmoil. He hated the fact that he had...failed. He had never failed to protect a loved one before. But now Kankuro had been hurt, and from the way he had groaned and screamed on the way back to Suna was proof that he had been hurt badly, but Gaara had not been able to help. He had been slapped aside like a child, like his sand powers meant nothing. True, his brother had been equally helpless, but...

Deep inside Gaara still thought of himself as the strongest of the three siblings. Even though he did not see his big brother as coward anymore, or as a useless lump of flesh, he did see Kankuro's own abilities as less then his own. To be so easily overcome by a glorified dog...

It was humiliating.

"He's resting now. The pain appears to have stopped." the doctor said.

"Well, what was wrong with him?"

"We have no idea...we ran every test we could. We found nothing."

Gaara widened his eyes slightly "Nothing? You are aware, of course, that these creatures forced him to drink wolf blood."

The man shifted uncomfortably. "My lord, we...we found no evidence of blood in his stomach. Wolf or otherwise. In fact, aside from a bump on the head we could find nothing wrong with your brother. Nothing at all."

Gaara glared at the man. "When we brought him in here he was screaming in pain. He was suffering. And now you are telling me that there is nothing wrong with him?"

"We can find nothing. Nothing at all. And we have run every test we could think of."

Gaara snorted.

"I am going to recommend that we keep him here overnight." the doctor looked outside. It was getting dark. The full moon was rising. "I want to make sure that he does not relapse into...whatever it was that was wrong with him."

Gaara resisted the urge to hit the man. What kind of incompetent fool was he? Kankuro comes to his hospital in obvious pain and this fool dares to say that there was nothing wrong with him?

The last rays of dusk faded from the sky.

All of a sudden a terrible noise, what sounded like a cross between a guttural howl and a human scream pierced the air. Gaara and Temari acted immediately, rushing into the hallway and towards the sound. Judging from the direction the noise was coming from...well it could only be coming from one place,

Kankuro's room.

The two ninjas burst into the room, Temari with her fan and Gaara gathering some sand from the floor of the hospital (even though the place was kept very clean in Suna was deficult to keep sand from getting some places, and while there was not an abundance Gaara had enough to cause some damage).

At first Gaara thought there must have been a fight here. The sheets of the hospital bed had been torn to shreds, as if slashed by long claws. Serveral machines had been overturned and there where more scraches on the walls. Gaara noticed, even though the place was ransacked, there was no blood or any body parts.

There was also no sign of Kankuro

And in the distance Gaara heard a horrible, savage howling.

A/N: No, still don't own Naruto.


	3. Chapter 3

An Author's Note: A warning. This chapter contains some mild forms of things that might make one blush if one reads this in a public area. Be cautious.

Also, I no own Naruto.

Chapter Three

Raw Meat

Gaara and Temari rushed to the window and saw a large pair of paw prints on the sill.

"Damn, they came back for him." Temari growled.

"Well, they can't have him. You trail it. I'm going to get renforcements."

Temari nodded and leaped out the window. It seemed like this beast was not as bright as its fellows, it was leaving an easy trail to follow.

Temari narrowed her eyes and followed the trail.

* * *

However, obvious the trail was, the thing also beat an erratic and insane path. Temari literally followed that trail throughout Suna for hours. It kept looping and twisting and doubling back on itself. A general curfew had been declared in Suna because of the recent attacks, and now more then ever Temari was grateful for that. She had no doubt that there would have been trouble if there had not been.

It was almost dawn by the time she finally caught up with the beast. It had actually left Suna itself behind, and it had fled to the cliffs that ringed the villages. By this time Temari was more then ready for a fight. So, when she saw that the creature had stopped she flipped open her fan and attacked.

As if warned the creature raised its head and growled. It leaped backwards, avoiding the strong winds that ripped towards it. Now, in the moonlight of the desert, no longer blocked by trees and plants, Temari could see it clearly. It was smaller then the other beasts had been, in fact it was about the same size as Kankuro. It seemed to mostly be a hairy human with long claw-like nails. It had the head of a wolf. Its eyes were yellow where the whites should be, and the iris was bright red with a normal looking black pupil. It stood on its hind legs, in fact it almost looked like it was standing on tiptoes. It's heel appeared to be higher then that of a humans, and its feet were broader and more paw shaped. It snarled, and Temari could see the blood dripping off of its fangs.

_The monster!_ She thought. The blood must be Kankuro's! The thing had killed her little brother! She was going to make it pay! She roared and swung her weapon, but the creature stood firm, as if it could not even feel it. It lunged at her, twisted paws raised to strike.

By now Temari had figured out that, for some reason, these beasts were not affected by ninjutsu or genjutsu, so now there was only one thing that she could try. As soon as the thing came close to her she folded the fan and swung it in a horizontal arch. To her glee the fan hit home and the creature went flying.

Temari smiled. Now she was getting somewhere! No more wasting her chakra! She was just going to pound on this thing! She lunged, swinging her fan and smacking the wolf on the head. It reeled backwards. It fell to the ground with a startled yip.

"Monster!" Temari bellowed as she raised her fan. She was going to bash the thing's brains in.

Then, it did something unexpected. It cringed low to the ground and whined. For a moment she thought she saw something familiar in the beast's eyes. Then, the moment was gone as the beast turned tail and ran.

"Come back here! Fiend! Where is my brother!" Temari bellowed. She went to follow the thing but then she spotted the form on the ground. The thing that beast had been eating.

It was small, scrawny, brown desert hare. Temari knelt down beside the small animal. It was defiantly dead, and half eaten.

"A rabbit." she muttered. "It didn't eat Kankuro, it was just a rabbit...but then where is Kankuro?"

She looked up at the sky as the sun stared to come up. What if the creature had never taken her brother after all? If not...then where could he be?

She sighed. She didn't want to lose the trail, but...

it was then that she spotted the figures in the distance, heading for Suna's main entrance. Although it was pretty far away she knew the figures. The huge dog gave it away. Not to mention the guy with the yellow hair and the jumpsuit that could be seen from miles away.

Leaf ninjas. Kiba's team. Naruto and Sakura as well. The sixth figure looked like Rock Lee. Temari knew that Team Kakashi had gotten a new member, someone named Sai, but why was Lee here and not him? And where was the copy nin anyway?

No matter, it was still perfect timing.

Unfolding her fan Temari prepared to fly down to the three ninjas. If anyone could find Kankuro's trail they could. She was not about to give up the search.

Gaara could wait a bit before he saw them.

* * *

Kankuro yawned and stretched, blinking in the morning sun. Strange...why was there sand in his bed?

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaraaaaaaaaaa, what did you do?" he muttered. Then, when he sat up he saw that he was not in his bed. Instead he was sitting in what he called his "hideout". The small cavern hidden in the cliffs of Suna had been the place he would retreat to in the old days. Back when his brother had been insane and his father had...well.... It was place for him to go and relax, to think and for few minutes have a bit of peace. He had used the hideout less and less after his father died and Gaara had found his humanity. Only Temari had known about it. The place was really comfortable, though, despite being a cave. It was cool and shady, except for the hole in the ceiling that let in the dawn light. In the mornings the cave was beautiful, mainly because the light would play on the small, clear underground pool in the middle of the floor. In the back there was a small entrance to the rest of the cave system, which Kankuro and Temari had once spent a few weeks exploring. Stalactites and stalagmites littered the cave like jagged teeth.

"Hmmm, odd. How did I get here?" Kankuro wondered aloud. The last thing he remembered was drifted off to an unsteady sleep in the hospital room. Then...the dream. An odd dream about running through the streets of Suna on all fours, howling and screaming in the night. Then, the hunt. Hunting a small, but tasty hare. Catching it and feasting on it, then being interrupted by...something. Something that screeched at him like a demented monkey. He attacked it, but then it turned into his sister and called him a freak...or something like that. Then, he ran away. And then...he woke up.

"Huh...must have sleepwalked...never done it before, though." he muttered to himself.

He stretched and yawned again. Man, he should sleep in this cave more often! He felt refreshed, renewed. As if he could take on anything! It was such a welcome change from the weakness and pain he felt the day before. Now, he felt good enough to run seven S class missions all in a row!

But..he should probably get home. If he had sleepwalked out of a hospital then Gaara and Temari were probably worried about him.

He walked over to the pool and splashed some water on his face. He had been drinking from it for years and it had never hurt him. As far as he was concerned it was as pure as any water in the world.

Looking down at himself in the pool he noticed something else. He was...well...naked.

And he did not keep clothes in the cave. He had once, but he had outgrown all of the outfits. There was no way he could fit into any of them.

He sighed heavily. Well, he was not a shinobi for nothing! He would just have to sneak back into the village, get to his house and get his clothing. And, then, maybe he should leave a change of clothes in his cave...just in case this happened again.

He again sighed and headed out. While he did feel stronger then he ever had, he still felt a bit embarrassed in the fact that he was basically exposing himself for the world to see.

It was then that the wind changed. A smell hit him.

Hare. Freshly dead desert hare.

Kankuro's mouth watered as he took a deep breath. It smelled...heavenly. Bright and sharp he recalled his dream. The way his teeth had ripped into the hare's back. The sharp jerks of his head as he flung it around to break the creature's bones. Then, then feeling of tearing into the thing. Of biting into it. Of eating its flesh and drinking its blood...

Blood...

He could smell it. Close, so close. Why not? It was his! His kill! His meat! His belly rumbled. Why should he not take what was his!?

Following his nose he found his hare. Just where he left it. Not pausing to think of the odd track his mind was following, Kankuro crouched down beside the hare. The smell was now even more powerful. More...

He grinned wildly and plunged his hands into the hare's intestines. He groaned in anticipation as he pulled bloody chunks to his mouth and took a large, greedy bite.

It was still so fresh. And still warm as well!

Kankuro grinned wider and continued to eat.

* * *

"So, what is with the team change?" Temari asked as the group headed for the cliffs. She had been right. It had been Kiba's team of himself, Shino and Hinata, as well as Naruto, Sakura and Rock Lee.

Rock Lee grinned "We believe we have a theory. Since neither ninjutsu nor genjutsu seem to work on these beasts they are sending me, the greatest taijustu specialist, on this mission." the chipper ninja grinned wildly. This was all good and well for him. He still carried a flame for Sakura, and was hoping that his mission would bring them closer together.

"And where are the rest of your teammates?" Temari asked curiously.

"Wtih Kakasi-sensei and Sai." Naruto said "they went to the Rain border to look for more clues."

Temari groaned. Deep inside she could not help but thing that Rain might have something to do with the attacks, though there was no proof. "You sure you can work effectively together?"

"Hey! With me and Bushy Brows here we'll find those wolf guys in a day! No sweat!" Naruto bellowed with a happy thumbs up.

Temari rolled her eyes. Yeah, she was glad that Naruto had basically came into there lives like one of the desert's own sudden storms and rearranged their lives. He had turned her distant, aggressive, mad brother into a strong and capable leader. And then Naruto had helped bring Gaara home. She was grateful to the excitable Leaf nin, she really was.

Burt that did not change the fact that she found him rather annoying at times.

All of a sudden Akamaru's huge head shot up and the dog started to snarl.

"What's up with him?" Temari asked.

"He smells wolf. So do I" Kiba growled himself "Horrible stink. That beast must still be close!"

"Alright! I'll get him!" Without a moment to pause or plan Naruto ran forwards "I'm coming for you, wolf!"

"Aw great." Temari ran to keep up with Naruto.

She almost collided with him when Naruto came to sudden halt. His eyes were wide and staring. He was pointing ahead of him, his finger trembling in shock.

Temari looked at what had shocked Naruto and froze.

It would have been better, easier, if Kankuro had been facing away from them, but he was not. He was right there, butt naked, eating the remains of the dead hare like it was the best thing he had ever tasted in his life.

Temari could feel the other Leaf nins coming up behind them. Could practically see their eyes bugging out, even though she was not facing them.

Shame and humiliation filled her. What the hell was her brother doing? What was this? She was scared, and she responded to the fear the only way she knew how, with anger.

"KANKURO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" She bellowed.

Startled, Kankuro jerked and looked up. For a second his response was all animal. He lifted his lips over his blunt human teeth and snarled at the group. Like a wolf. It would have been funny, were it not for the fact that he looked so...serious about the entire thing. Even though his body was human for a second all Temari could see was a wolf.

And then, just as the moment before when she had felt something familiar in the wolf, Kankuro's wolf moment was gone. For a moment he stared at his audience, then he looked down and realized where he was and what he was and who was standing there seeing him eat a dead rabbit like an animal. Horror and disgust filled him and he recoiled from the rabbit. He fell down and scrambled away. Lifting his hands he noticed the blood dripping off of his fingers and he felt an odd urge.

The urge to lick the blood off of his fingers.

Horror rushed through him again, and he lifted his head and stared directly into the eyes of his sister. He could always read her well. Perhaps it was because they had to band together in the face of their father's evil and their brother's madness. They had formed a bond together, though they did not seem outwardly affectionate, they were close. Now, what he saw in her face terrified him. He could see disgust, anger, and concern. But most of all he saw her shame. And her shame filled him with self loathing.

He could not take it anymore. With a strangled cry he scrambled to his feet and fled.

He could hear Temari calling to him, but he closed his eyes and ran on, hoping against all hope that he would somehow wake up from this nightmare.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Scent

Unlike his sister, Gaara had not spent the entire night running around Suna trying to find his brother. Instead, he had sent Baki with a team of Sand Ninja out to scour the city for him. While he did have the urge to find the wolf and Kankuro himself, he knew that as Kazekage he had several duties to attend to. He did not like it, but Gaara had faith enough faith in Temari and Baki to know that if they could not find Kankuro then no one would.

At dawn a messenger came with news that two teams of Leaf ninja had arrived at the gate. A few minutes after that a hyperactive orange blur charged inside the office with a huge grin.

"Hey! Gaara! How've you been? By the way, what's wrong with Kankuro?"

Sakura, who had been a few steps behind her excitable teammate, groaned and punched him in the head. "Idiot."

"Kankuro has been missing since last night." Gaara explained, assuming someone had told the Leaf nins that his brother was gone.

"But we just saw him! He was just outside! Why was he eating a dead rabbit?" Naruto asked, ignoring Sakura as she tried to get him to shut up.

Gaara stared at Naruto for several minutes. In this space of time the other Leaf ninjas had trailed in, each looking slightly embarrassed about this entire thing. Except for Kiba. He had been frowning and shaking his head ever since he had caught a whiff of Kankuro's scent.

"That is not funny, Naruto." Gaara said coldly. He had no idea if it was his total lack of a sense of humor or if Naruto was just trying to be funny and failing, but he did not like this, not at all.

"Hey! It's not a joke! Tell him you guys! We all saw it!"

Gaara looked at the other Leaf ninja, most of whom nodded. Gaara sighed silently to himself. He could believe that Naruto was trying to crack a joke, and maybe Kiba might also find something like this funny, but he knew that Sakura, Rock Lee and Hinata simply were not that cruel. As for Shino...well Gaara had no idea of the bug master had any sense of humor at all.

"You saw my brother eating a dead rabbit?" Gaara asked, still not sure that this was true.

"Yeah," Naruto said, still ignoring Sakura snarling at him "and he-"

"Would you shut up!" Sakura finally decided that simply talking and mild blows were not enough, so she physically grabbed him and slapped her hand against his mouth.

A long, awkward silence, then Hinata said gently "Maybe it has something to do with that night? A curse of some sort?"

Gaara steeped is fingers and closed his eyes "Perhaps that is case. What you describe is not something that Kankuro would do. The scene left behind certainly did suggest some sort of ritual...where is Kankuro now?"

Naruto shrugged "I don't know, he ran off. Temari went after him."

Gaara nodded "I see." he took a deep breath. Calm. He needed to be calm. "Would you mind stepping outside for a few moments. There is something I need to take care off." Like trying to figure this out in private.

Sakura, seeing that Naruto was probably going to be loud again and say something insensitive, spoke up "Hey, how about some breakfast? I think I saw a ramen shop a few blocks back." At the mention of the R word Naruto's mind immediately went to food.

However, as he was about to leave it seemed to finally occur to Naruto that Gaara might have taken the whole brother-eating-roadkill thing a bit hard. He turned to the Kazekage and gave him a thumbs up "Hey, don't worry Gaara. We'll break that curse on Kankuro, just you wait and see!" With that Naruto's mind was back on ramen and he charged out. The others, grateful that this scene was over, followed.

Except for Kiba.

Gaara stared at Kiba for several seconds "Is there something you wanted."

Kiba gulped "Yeah...yeah. I got something to say to you."

Gaara's eyes narrowed "Say it."

Kiba sighed "Look, how much do you know about scents?"

"Things smell. That is it."

"Yeah...it's a bit more complicated then that. Look, you know my senses are like a dog's right?"

Gaara nodded "Go on."

"It's about Kankuro, his scent has changed."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, it is like this. I can smell things that normal humans can't. Things that only a canine could. There are two basic different kinds of scents, what my family likes to call primary scents and secondary scents. A secondary scent is like what you pick up from your environment. Let's take you for example. You kinda smell like sand. All Sand ninjas kinda do. You also smell a bit like ink and paper. Now, Kankuro usually smells like sand, sawdust and hamburger. He smells like sawdust because he works with wooden puppets. I guess he eats a bunch of hamburger, right?" Gaara nodded and Kiba continued "There you go, that's why he smells like it. Now, if he were to say, stop eating hamburger and start eating something else eventually he would start to smell like that. So, if you are around something it's scent attaches itself to you so you smell like it. Primary scent, however, is different. It's a scent that is unique to each and every individual. I can't really describe what it smells like, because there is really not a word for it. It smells like a what a thing is. Like, you smell like human. I smell like human. All of us smell like human. Akamaru, on the other hand, smells like dog."

"I still do not understand your point."

"Kankuro's primary scent has changed. I noticed it when I saw and smelled him. It doesn't smell like human anymore. It smells like a combination of human and wolf. That shouldn't be possible. Even if he was around a wolf he should just smell like he was _around_ a wolf, not like he _is_ a wolf. You get it?"

Gaara nodded "You think this curse, whatever it was, has somehow changed Kankuro's very nature, am I correct?"

"I...I'm not sure. I'm just saying...it's weird and I don't like it at all."

Gaara had no idea what to say.

* * *

Temari found Kankuro in his hideout, plunging his hands into the waters of the underground pool and scrubbing hard on his hands, desperately getting the blood off.

"Kankuro?"

He jerked away from the pool and stared at his sister. "I...I...Temari what's wrong with me? Please, tell me what's wrong."

Temari shook her head.

"I didn't mean it. I don't know why I did it. I just...I smelled it, and I wanted to eat it." He was babbling, he knew it. But he could not seem to stop.

Temari sighed and started to walk over to him. He recoiled.

"No! Don't come near me!"

Temari looked like she had been struck "What?"

Kankuro looked down, afraid to look at her and see more of that shame, or worse: fear. "I don't want to hurt you, but I might. I almost did back there. I couldn't see you. I mean, I saw you, but I didn't see _you_."

"No." Temari said "You would never hurt me."

He looked up and glared at her "Father did. He did it all the time, to both of us. Why not me?"

Temari was getting pissed now. She marched right over to him, ignoring the fact that another snarl escaped his lips as she strode over to him. She grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in eye.

"You would never hurt me. I know you. Hell, I've been wiping the snot off your face since we were little kids. You are nothing like he was and you never will be. Stop acting like an idiot. You know perfectly well why you are acting like this. That ritual two nights ago must have been some sort of curse. You, the real you, would never hurt any of us."

He glared darkly at her "You're ashamed of me."

"Well, yeah. I never took you for a flasher, Kankuro." Temari said with a grin.

Kankuro chuckled. To his surprise, Temari then let go of his chin and hugged him. The two had never really shown their affection by touching one another. It was not proper for Sand ninjas to display affection for one another. For them it was all about projecting an image of fierceness, bravery and arrogance. Attitude and image was important to them, and no matter what a team might feel for each other personally they were discouraged for showing it.

Kankuro always loved it. It was showmanship at its finest.

So, for second Kankuro responded to the hug with stiffness, then he relaxed and embraced his sister. It had been a long time since they had hugged. In fact, the last time it happened had been in this very cave.

"We'll figure this out, little brother." Temari said.

"Thanks Temari."

"Let's head back. Gaara is probably having a heart attack by now."

"Do you think I'm strong enough, Temari?"

"For what?"

"Gaara...when he was possessed by the demon, he controlled it. He survived it. I'm not sure...if there is a demon in me now, if that ritual put something inside of me, I don't know if I can be as strong as he was. I might not want to hurt you...but what if it does?"

"There may not even be a demon. And if there is, you can handle it. I have faith in you."

"Do you?" he said quietly. He wished he had her confidence.

Because somewhere, deep inside him, he heard something growling.


	5. Chapter 5

An Author's Note: Just so any new readers know, when I write things I have tendency to wander away far away from cannon and into to the wonderful world of Left Field. I usually make stuff up as I go along, and it will probably be so much worse when dealing with a series that is not yet complete, like Naruto is. Be prepared for major AU ness and weirdness and general making stuff up. If you have read anything I have written before you know what I am talking about. I have lost readers over this stuff before, so I just thought I would go ahead and mention this before this ship gets to far away from the dock. If you do not like it when authors stray away from cannon like little lost sheep then you should probably not bother reading any more of this.

Also, I have a tendency to OC the heck out of my stories. I got more OC's then I can shake a stick at, although why I would want to shake a stick at them eludes me. Point is, if you don't like OC after OC popping up you might want to leave now. I try not to make Mary Sues, but tell me if any OC strays there.

You have been warned.

I don't own Naruto.

Chapter Five

A Demon?

Temari was nice enough to summon her weasel to go down to Suna and get her brother some clothes. She still really wanted to know how in the world he ended up here in the middle of "his" cave in the first place. In fact, Kankuro really wanted to know the answer to that question as well. He figured that, for some reason, the wolf creature that Temari had seen last night had taken him here. He had no idea why though.

"Maybe it was trying to take you away to join its...pack or whatever it has." Temari suggested as they waited for the weasel to get back. "Remember when the snake guy lured away Naruto's Uchiha friend?"

"I remember saving dog boy and the puppy." Kankuro said with a grin. "Don't really care so much about Old Broody though."

"Old Broody?'

Kankuro shrugged "That is how I always thought of him as: Old Broody. He always seemed like a broody old man to me. Yeah, he's powerful and all that, but I really could not stand being around that guy. Could you?"

Temari snorted "Not really, no."

"Anyway, if they were trying to kidnap me the wolves didn't do a good job of it. They keep leaving me behind." Kankuro snorted.

By this time the weasel had returned with pants and a shirt, which Kankuro gladly put on.

"So, I guess now we figure out what kind of curse I got. Right?" Kankuro asked.

Temari nodded "But first we talk to Gaara, he'll want to know what happened." she grinned at her brother "Besides that, I want you to talk to him about demons and tailed beasts. I'm not certain if that is what you have, but if anyone could help you with this curse, it would be Gaara."

Kankuro nodded.

* * *

Kankuro sighed to himself as he approached the door to his brother's office. He really felt uncomfortable about this, but he knew he would have to face Gaara eventually. While Temari was right when she said that Gaara would know more about dealing with what might possibly be a demon possession and how to deal with it, Kankuro could not help but feel awkward about this. In a way the tables had been turned. Gaara was a normal person now, and Kankuro was the one who might have a demon inside of him. He did not like the idea at all.

Well, might as well get this over with.

"Hey, how's it going?" he asked as he strode in, looking as casual as he could. No way he was going to act differently no matter how worried about this curse he was. No way.

Gaara looked up at him. Anyone else would have interpreted his look as either cold anger or supreme irritation, but Kankuro knew his brother's moods pretty well. Gaara was worried, and determined not to show just how worried he was, so instead he gave Kankuro a look that resembled something a principle might give a student who had just fired a spit ball at point blank range.

"What happened to you last night?" Gaara asked without preamble.

Kankuro sighed and ran a hand through is hair (the darned weasel had found shirt and pants, but had not retrieved Kankuro's cat hood) "I'm not sure. I remember being taken to the hospital, getting poked and prodded. I went to sleep feeling weak. And then when I woke up I was outside Suna in a cave."

"You ate a rabbit...raw?" Gaara asked.

Kankuro nodded, but did not meet his brother's eyes "Yeah...I'm not sure what happened, Gaara. I woke up in a cave, and by the way I woke up without any clothes on, I didn't just decide to go out and display myself to the Leafs. I was just planning to sneak into the village and put some freaking pants on. I...I smelled the dead rabbit. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I was hungry and it just smelled so good. Before I knew it I was eating it."

Gaara stared at Kankuro. He didn't seem that different at first glance. Sure he was not wearing his cat hood, but the clothes were the same, the voice and attitude was the same, heck he had even taken the time at some point to put on face paint. However, if what Kiba said was true then something was different. A smell. Something that Gaara himself could not detect.

"Gaara...do you think I am under some sort of curse? Do...you think I might be..." he could not say it.

But still, Gaara understood him "You are concerned that you might have been given a demon, like me?"

Kankuro sighed "I don't know."

"I have been thinking about this, Kankuro, ever since the Leaf nins told me about this morning. I have two ideas. One: for some reason the wolf creatures have indeed given you some sort of demon. It cannot be a tailed beast like mine, though. I don't think it is possible to insert a tailed beast into a adult."

"Are you sure about that?"

"No, but I have only myself and Naruto to go on, and we both were possessed when we were small. Also, a sacrifice must be made. It is true that a wolf was found dead, but I think the sacrifice must be a human one.

The second scenario: this curse is, for some reason, giving you abilities and feelings similar to that of a wolf. For what reason I do not know. Maybe they want something and are trying to get you on their side. I don't know.

However, I do want you to see Sakura about this. If there is a curse or a demon she will find it. Then, we can work on lifting it."

Kankuro nodded. "Yeah. In the mean time I'll try not to eat roadkill, right?" he grinned at Gaara. "Hey, there is another possibility! I could just be going totally insane?"

The ends of Gaara's mouth twitched "Going? You have already been there." Gaara said matter of factly.

Kankuro laughed at that. "Finally, a sense of humor! Well, I suppose I better go get examined. If it is a curse I want to know as soon as possible."

Gaara nodded "One more thing. Have you ever heard a voice in your head?"

Kankuro stopped in his tracks "You mean an actual voice or my internal monologue?"

"A voice. In your head. When I was possessed I would hear the voice of the One Tail almost all the time. Constantly calling for blood. Have you heard a voice since you drank the wolf blood?"

Kankuro shook his head. "No, not at all...wait...you actually heard the demon's voice in your head?"

Gaara nodded.

"Is that why you talked to yourself?"

Gaara blinked. "I never talked to myself. I talked to the demon. It talked to me. It was constantly talking."

"Wow, I never knew." Kankuro stared at his brother with a fearful kind of wonder "You know, that is the real reason I was afraid of you back then, right?"

"I thought it was the constant death threats."

"Well, no. Everyone threated to kill me back then. Temari, Baki, half the Council."

"Ah, yes." Gaara looked thoughtful "I remember that now. I believe it had something to do with setting the drapes in the council chamber on fire."

"Hey, they were ugly drapes, and you know it." Kankuro said.

Gaara gave his brother an odd look. Yes, Kankuro had been the kind of kid to light drapes on fire. He had also put cockroaches in Temari's shampoo and drew a large smiley face on Baki's face drape. But then their father had sent Kankuro away for a year, after which Baki started to train them as a team, and after that there were no more cockroaches or fires or smiley faces for a long time. Gaara could not help but think that it might have had something to do with him. With the demon.

"Yeah, and it wasn't the sand powers I was scared of." Kankuro's voice brought Gaara back "It was when you stared to talk to yourself. I didn't know that the demon was talking to you. I thought you were just nuts." Kankuro looked down at the floor "Sorry about that."

Gaara shrugged "When I was little I thought everyone could hear a voice in their heads. It never occurred to me that talking to mine was abnormal."

"How in the world did you stand it?"

"It was normal to me. In fact, the silence in my head has been one of the more...interesting aspects of being free of the demon. I finally have time to think for myself now. At first it was lonely, but now it is become more comfortable."

Kankuro nodded. "I see."

"However, my point stands. If you start to hear a voice in your head that could mean there really is a demon inside of you. If you do start to hear something then tell us."

Kankuro nodded again.

* * *

After several hours of being examined by Sakura Kankuro was about ready to scream in frustration. Instinctively he knew something was wrong with him, normal people didn't suddenly have the urge to eat raw rabbit meat, but for some reason Sakura couldn't detect any curse when she examined him. Sure she could sense his chakra, that was normal. In fact, it was too normal. There seemed to be nothing at all wrong with Kankuro, and he knew that could not be right.

However, as it grew dark Kankuro started to yawn and get very sleepy. Maybe it was the heat, but for some reason Kankuro could not stay awake.

Frustrated at the lack of leads, Sakura eventually told Kankuro to go home and get some sleep. She was tired of watching him yawn. She was finding nothing, after all.

Neither Temari nor Gaara were home when Kankuro finally got there. The three siblings lived in the same house, although since Temari was away so often and Gaara rarely left the office it would be more accurate to say that Kankuro owned the house. By now he was so tired he could barely stay awake, so he went right up to bed and drifted off to sleep.

A full moon was creeping its way towards the sky...

* * *

Kankuro stood in a forest, a beautiful lush place with tall trees. He had never liked trees before, but something about this place gave him an odd feeling of piece. It felt different then the Land of Fire's forests, older, more stable. Somehow wiser. It was strange.

Not knowing what to do he started to walk forwards. It felt like something ws tugging him. After a few minutes he came to clearing, and froze.

There, feeding on a magnificent white deer, was a large blueish silver she wolf. She lifted her head from her prey and seemed to smile at him.

_Now, this is interesting. A new pup! A different kind of pup. Come, my child, come and share my kill._

Kankuro jerked away in horror. "What! No way!"

The wolf frowned _Now now, is that any way to treat a gift from your mother?_

"Look, hairball, you are not my mother. My mother is dead, and she sure as hell was not a wolf!"

_Ah! But you are mine now, little one. You are a creature of the night now!_

Kankuro snarled "No! Never! I'm a human! I'm not a wolf! Stay away from me, you demon!" turning he leaped into the trees and started to bounce from limb to limb, trying to get some distance between him and the beast that called itself his mother.

He knew he had to get away.

Hadn't Gaara once called his own demon Mother?

_Running will not help, puppy. You can't escape what you are._

"Watch me." Kankuro growled.

_You are half right, my child. You are not a wolf, but you are not human either. You are..._

Kankuro clamped his hands over his ears to block her out.

_You are..._

A flash of light, then, before everything changed he barely heard the last little word.

_Werewolf._

* * *

He was standing at his windowsill, looking up at the night sky. The wind blew through the room, causing a few of his more lightweight puppets to clatter and chatter gently. He stretched his back and yawned, the moon glistening off his sharp fangs. The wind ruffled his fur and the sound of sheep bleating teased his pointed ears.

Prey.

Kankuro lifted his head to the sky and howled. He leaped from the windowsill and landed effortlessly on the ground.

Then he was off

Searching for prey.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Desert Worm

Temari has also arrived late that night, and she too headed right for bed. Perhaps if she had not been so worn out from the night and day before she would have noticed the fact that Kankuro's snoring was strangely absent from his room. However, she did not notice it, and instead went to bed.

Gaara came in about dawn the next morning. He didn't sleep that much, even now. Usually, he came home straight from the office, ate something, took a shower and changed clothes, rested for a bit and then went right back. Most times Kankuro would be there eating, and most times he would join him. If Temari was in from her diplomatic trips then she would usually be there as well.

Today, however, it was only Kankuro there eating. In fact, he was eating what appeared to hamburger. It looked cooked enough to Gaara.

"No rabbit?"

Kankuro rolled his eyes "Ha, ha."

Gaara fixed his own meal and ate across from his brother, happy that Kankuro seemed a bit more normal today. Sure, hamburger was a strange thing to have for breakfast, but it was better then finding his brother eating a raw rabbit again.

At least, it seemed more normal, until Kankuro put his food down for a moment while he got up to get something else to drink. Gaara got a good look at the peace of meat.

It was not raw, but there was a lot of pink of that burger.

Not raw.

But defiantly rare.

Gaara knew for a fact that Kankuro didn't like his hamburger rare. Normally, Gaara would have mentioned this fact to his brother...but.

Something odd was going on here, and he didn't like it. Gaara trusted his brother, but suddenly it occurred to Gaara that Kankuro might not be in his right mind at the moment. There might be something going on here that, for some reason, Kankuro could not or would not articulate. The best course of action would be to watch and wait. Gaara was going to observe his brother, and hope that his growing suspicions were unfounded. Gaara knew there was no way that his brother would ever betray Suna, or his family.

But who was to say that this was, in fact, the real Kankuro?

* * *

The old way of training young shinobi in Suna was simple: three young children who had shown any predisposition for powerful chakra would be gathered under one teacher. The teacher would be their only sensei. There had been no academy in Suna in those days, so basically a young ninja in Suna would go straight to the genin level.

However, there had been one exception to this rule: the puppeteers. Some of the most famous of puppet masters were also ninja, but many in the puppet corps were not. They were a separate organization, with there own rules and structure. Their history dated back to before Suna was a nation, and they kept their secrets close. So, even though Kankuro considered Baki his ninja master, he had been taught as a puppeteer by the corps. This had actually worked well for him, as he had been terrified of Gaara when he was younger, and the puppet training was an excuse to stay away for a few hours.

Now, even though Suna had a ninja academy and even though the three Sand Siblings no longer taught, Kankuro still had a duty to train young puppeteers who wanted to be shinobi. Even though there were many puppeteers the actions of a certain Sasori of the Red Sands had made many of them unwilling to take the path of the ninja, instead choosing from other fields in the puppet corps. Kankuro was, in fact, the only puppeteer of his generation that had survived to jonin level. The other two had not survived.

However, partly because of Kankuro's own actions as a puppet master, more young puppeteers were interested in becoming ninja. This had delighted Kankuro's former teachers in the field, and most of the time they were happy to train the five youngsters who had chosen to be puppet ninja. However, these former teachers could not always train them, and so at times Kankuro had to step in and substitute.

Today was one of those days.

Kankuro had taken the five puppeteer prospects out into the desert to train. This was also an old Suna tradition, training in the desert. They were in a small canyon, so it was relatively shady. It was still very hot, though.

Five straw men had been set up. The aim of this lesson was distance. Kankuro wanted the young children to learn how to cast their puppets at range. The further the range the better.

The practice puppets the youngsters had were small, relatively simple, poison less, and had actual strings. None of the young puppeteers had the ability to form chakra strings yet, though they could channel the chakra into the strings.

The only girl in the group cursed rather colorfully as her puppet's strings tangled and the poor thing fell to the dusty earth with a loud plop...again.

"Why can't I get this?" she growled.

"You're gestures are all wrong, you're way to stiff." Kankuro said, approaching her. "Here, like this." He went over and tried to show the exasperated girl how to preform the proper gestures. "Remember to make it nice and smooth. A puppeteer is never jerky or stiff."

All of sudden he felt a strong chakra approaching. A familiar one.

"Halt." he commanded. Although the person approaching was technically a friend, Kankuro was still bound by the laws of the puppeteers. He would not betray their secrets even to a friend.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Kankuro!" an energetic voice bellowed from the cliff tops. "How are you feeling?"

"Who is that?" one of Kankuro's students asked with a sullen expression.

"That would be the next Hokage." Kankuro said with a smirk.

"Your joking, Sensei."

"Nope."

Naruto leaped down from the cliff and gave the puppeteers a wide grin. "Hey, I didn't know you had a genin team!"

"I don't, these are puppeteer students."

"Ohhh...what's the difference?"

"...It's complicated." Kankuro had really no desire to go into the particulars of Suna history right here in the middle of the desert.

"So, whet are you teaching them?"

"He can't tell you, Leaf nin." the girl student glared at Naruto "The puppeteers do not give away their secrets!"

Before Kankuro could say anything more he felt a slight shift in the sands. Desert training was meant to do several things, not only was it meant to toughen up a young Sand ninja, but it also got them used to the desert's rather temperamental moods. A Sand ninja could tell many things from the way the sand sifted or the earth moved. Now, Kankuro felt something.

A bad something.

"Quiet." he muttered, instantly on high alert. He dropped to the sand and placed his ear on the ground.

Yep, there it was. A subtle shifting and sliding.

He leaped to his feet. "To the rocks. Now!"

Immediately the five students ran for the rocks, but Naruto, who was not born in Suna, just started yarking "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Sand worm." Kankuro replied.

"A what? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The desert had many predators, one of which was the sand worm.

It burst from the ground, huge blood red segmented thing with thousands and thousands of teeth. Both in the head and out of the head. Okay, so the outside teeth were spines, but they looked like teeth.

"Oh.." Naruto said "That's a sand worm."

"Yeah, run."

"Ha! Run! I am the next Hokage! I'm not going to run from some worm!" Naruto started to power up the Rasengan.

"No, you fool!" Kankuro bellowed as Naruto fired the spinning ball of light at the worm. "It's resistant to chakra attacks!"

"It's what?" Naruto gaped as the Rasengan hit the worm, and did absolutely nothing.

Except piss the big beast off.

It let out a strange, high pitched squeak and lunged at the two morsels that had dare attack it. The kids, seeing their teacher and the Leaf nin being attacked, screamed in unison. The girl, determined to help, sent her practice puppet against the beast. It screamed and crunched the puppet, and with a twist lifted the girl high into the air.

There was something about the screams, and the threat of the beast, and seeing the girl do that, it set something off inside of Kankuro. It was not like this would be the first time he would have seen children killed by a sand worm. They were rare, but dangerous, and always when one attacked there would be casualties. It would be smart thing to just leave the girl and get the rest to safety.

It was what his masters had done.

But, something inside, told him that this was intolerable. Something inside, something that had not been there before, arose. It told him that there was one rule one must always follow.

Protect the pups.

With a wave of his own hand Kankuro sent the Crow at the worm. Puppet masters were, in fact, one of the best opponents for a sand worm. Though they used chakra, their puppets were tools and not chakra based. They could pierce the hide of the monsters.

Naruto, who had always loved kids, used the Art of the Shadow Doppleganger. In an instant hundreds of Naruto's had appeared and stared to pound on the worm. Millions of blows landed on the beast as one of the Naruto's grabbed the girl and sprung to back to the cliff to safety.

The worm, not willing to let his prey go yet, lunged for the cliff face.

More children screaming, and again that odd instinct sprung up in Kankuro. The beast was passing by him, and rage filled Kankuro like a volcano. Roaring in anger he lunged at the head as it was passing by. Something flashed in the morning light, like a small bright flame, and all of a sudden one of the worm's stalk eyes had fallen to the ground.

The worm suddenly decided that it could find prey with softer teeth. Swiftly it burrowed underground.

Naruto's clones disappeared and he looked at Kankuro, shocked.

Never once, in the time that Naruto had known the puppet master, had Kankuro ever used any other weapon but his puppets. In fact, Naruto had assumed that Kankuro knew no other way to fight. But there, in Kankuro's hand, was something unexpected.

A sword.

It was scimitar, in fact. Large and broad. It had a steel hilt. On the pummel was a simple, sharp stone instead of a traditional gemstone. One the blade was an imprint of a swooping eagle.

"Huh?" Naruto said as he looked at the sword, totally clueless.

Kankuro stared at the sword with a sigh. He brought out a scroll and and with a mutter and a hand sign the sword disappeared.

"Kankuro, I thought you didn't use swords?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

Kankuro grunted and turned away "I don't want to talk about it." He gathered up his puppeteer students, who were also giving him puzzled looks, and marched back to the city.

* * *

"Are you serious?" Shino asked with irritation. "He can use a sword?" the bug ninja felt like he had been cheated. Kankuro had never used a sword in their fight, and had given no indication that he could use a sword. Shino felt irritated by that, like Kankuro had not given him his all in the battle. Although they were now allies, and even though Shino was grateful that Kankuro had saved his teammate Kiba, Shino still hated to be slighted.

"What are you guys talking about?" Temari said as she approached the group of Leaf ninjas. She had been assigned to guide them around Suna, and she had been supremely irritated that Naruto had gone and decided to go wandering about on his own.

Naruto was eager to tell the story. At the point were he got to the sword Temari's eyes widened.

"He used it? But he never uses that..." she muttered.

"What is the deal with it, anyway?" Naruto asked.

Temari's eyes narrowed. "That is not for me to say. It's Kankuro's business."

"What is going on here?" a familiar voice asked. Gaara. He had just gotten out of the office to get some lunch and noticed the group standing outside the ramen shop, which was now Naruto's favorite place in Suna.

"Hey! Gaara! We were just talking about Kankuro's sword!" Temari groaned as Naruto piped up. Gaara was not supposed to know about the blasted sword.

Gaara noticed his sister's reaction. He looked at her with a puzzled look. "Sword?"

* * *

It had been a while since Kankuro had to clean the aforementioned weapon. Sure, every month he would take the thing out, polish it and sharpen it, but this was the first time he had to clean gunk off of it.

For eighteen years the sword had never gotten gunk on it.

But, unfortunately, sand worm eyes do indeed contain gunk, and said gunk was now all over the blade of the weapon.

Kankuro grunted with satisfaction as the last of the goop was swiped off. Kankuro had taken the blade back to his workshop, which normally served his puppets. However, he did have gear for the sword, and he was using it now to restore it to shininess as well as razor sharpness.

The door opened and Gaara stepped in "So, it is true. You really do own a sword."

Kankuro stiffened. "Yeah...I do."

"You never mentioned this."

"It is not important."

"Where did you get it?"

"It's none of your business, Gaara."

"None of my business!" Gaara growled. "How could you say that! Aren't you the one that wanted honesty between us."

"This is not something I want to discuss. It is not important and you should not concern yourself with it."

"What else are you keeping from me?"

"Nothing!"

"How can I be sure of that!"

Kankuro's shoulders became even more tense "Don't make this about you, Gaara."

"No, it is about you. You are keeping secrets and I don't like it!" Gaara was angry. He thought he could trust Kankuro! Kankuro was not supposed to keep things from him...like a certain uncle had done. "I thought I could trust you, but now I am starting to wonder if you are like him!"

"Don't you dare go there!" Kankuro was shaking with rage now.

"Tell me what that sword is for!"

"It. Is. None. Of. Your. Business!" Kankuro's voice was changing. Warping. Becoming more guttural and harsh.

"Tell me now! I am your Kazekage and I am ordering you to-"

"Shut up!"

The blade flashed and all at once Gaara felt the cold edge of the blade against his neck. He didn't blink, didn't move. He was shocked, and deeply saddened. Was he about to be betrayed by another family member?

Gaara stared at his brother. He saw rage on Kankuro's face, almost homicidal rage. Then, confusion, utter horror and finally self loathing.

_My God, what am I doing!_ Kankuro thought as he looked into his brother's seeminly impassive face. Impassive on the outside, but Kankuro could see the pain in it. _ I am I really so much like him? My father's son?_

The sword fell to the ground with a clang and Kankuro backed away from Gaara until he hit the edge of his workbench. He shook his head as if trying to ward off a fog.

_He has no idea what he is doing._ Gaara realized. _He didn't mean to attack me, but something is happening to him._

The curse.

"G-Gaara." Kankuro stuttered "I'm sorry. I don't know...I don't know what came over me. I-I think I am going mad."

"Kankuro..." Gaara was at a loss.

"That thing...that sword..." Kankuro said "It's so personal. I've told no one about it. Not you, not Temari, no one. I mean, she knows I have it, but I've told no one why. Or how. It's to painful, do you understand?" He laughed. "I hate going on and on about my past, ya know? I'm not like Old Broody!"

Gaara nodded. He knew it was best to drop the subject now. He did not want to press his brother into another rage "Will you tell me eventually?"

"Yes...yes..."

"You promise?"

"I do."

Gaara stared into his brother's eyes. "I trust you, Kankuro."

"I know." _But should you?_ Kankuro wondered.

Right now, Kankuro didn't even know if he could trust himself.

* * *

That night was another full moon. The last one of the month. And while he did not have any dreams that night, when the moon rose in the sky a beast named Kankuro was there to great it with a savage howl.

A kid was taken that night...


	7. Chapter 7

An Author's Note: All random OC names have been taken from a handy dandy web site that tells you the meanings of baby names. Let's face it, I can barely come up with good English names on my own, much less Japanese ones.

Interesting side note, typing in Temari and Kankuro's names brought up nothing on the site, but Shino's did. Apparently it means "stem of bamboo". Go figure.

More weird AU ing coming up, mainly because I believe that, hey, since the Narutoverse is apparently an alternate fantasy dimension I can go hog wild.

Be afraid.

I don't own Naruto, be grateful for that.

Chapter Seven

Telling Tales

Temari gazed down at the bloody mess in front of her.

"Almost nothing left..." she muttered as the goat herder moaned and cried in the background.

"She was my favorite!" he said with tears in his eyes.

"We'll find the beast, don't worry." Temari said.

"I was going to breed her off to a nice male in just two years! Two years! Do you know how much effort it is going to take to get another one?" the man cried in his hands "There goes my livelihood!"

"It was just one-"

"But she had a fine, find linage! Her mother was a champion, you know!"

"Look, I am sorry about this, but really it was just one. And she was scrawny besides!" Temari pointed out.

"But she made the best milk in miles!"

Temari sighed and looked at the remains again. Only a pair of horns and some hooves remained of what had once been a young goat.

"Look on the bright side, it was just a goat." Temari said "What if it had been your daughter?"

That shut the man up for a while.

* * *

Naruto and the other Leaf nins had a mission that day.

"So that is where puppet ninja are born..." Shino gazed at the building, which actually...well it looked like a theater.

"What are you guys doing here?" said a familiar voice. Kankuro appeared from behind a ticket booth.

"Hey! Temari wouldn't let us get near this place yesterday." Naruto said "Something about you being the only one who could get us in."

Kankuro sighed "Why would you want to get into the puppet corps?"

"Hey, we don't have you guys in Konoha! We're curious!"

"I see. And would your Anbu let in a foreign ninja into there headquarters just because of curiosity?"

"Well...no...but come on! Can't you let us see something?"

Kankuro sighed. "Hold on a sec. Let me talk to the old man." Kankuro ducked behind the ticket booth again and seemed to disappear.

After a few moments the main door opened and Kankuro came out. "Okay, because the Kazekage likes you guys and the fact that the old man seems to like me, you guys can come in a see a bit of it. But don't wander off on your own. There are more traps here then you could believe."

Naruto whopped and ran it, and almost got skewered by a flying kunai. "Woah!" he bellowed as he jumped back.

"Told ya, didn't I?" Kankuro grinned. "Watch your step."

They walked into a large room with a huge chandelier and a gigantic marble staircase.

"Wow! It looks like a real theater!" Naruto said.

"It is a real theater." Kankuro said.

"What...you mean you actually put on plays here?" Hinata asked.

"Sure do. We turn off the traps when there is a preformace, of course. In fact, I think there's a dance pratice for tommorow nights show going on right now." Kankuro grinned. "Wanna sneak a peek?"

He opened the door to the stage. The place was huge. It looked like it seated over a thousand people, and that was just the orchestra section. Sure enough, there was a small gorup of people preforming dance moves on the stage. A tall man was barking orders at them, but at the sound of the door openeing he paused to take a look at who had barged in.

"Hey, Kankuro! What do you have there?"

"Akio! You chicken! Hows the prancing going?" Kankuro shouted.

"Not bad, not bad. At least we have a few people here with actual rhythm. Who are the shinobi? Leafs?"

Kankuro introduced them to the man "This is Akio, one of the dance instructors. Used to be a puppet nin recruit before he chickened out."

"Hey, what can I say. I'm squeamish. Unlike Sir Bloodthirsty here."

"Hey! I know you! You're that idiot Leaf that we meet yesterday!" a familiar girl came bouncing out of the line, pointing at Naruto.

"Kaida, don't call our guest an idiot!" Akio snapped.

"Oh, don't blame the girl for accuracy." Kankuro grinned.

"Hey!" Naruto objected. "I'm not just anybody, you know! I'm Naruto Uzumaki! I'm going to-"

"Ya ya, be the next Hokage." the girl, Kaida, rolled her eyes "Still does not make you less of an idiot."

"Uzumaki...hey, he has two names!" someone from the back of the line pointed out.

"Well, duh, he's a Leaf!" Kaida shouted at the speaker. "Ya know, Clan peoples."

"Yeah, they got clans in the other nations, remember?" Kankuro pointed out.

"Come to think of it...none of you have every told us your last names..." Sakura said thoughtfully.

"That's because we don't have them, Leaf." Kaida said smugly. "We don't have clans in Suna. Never did and never will! The Iifernati have no need of them."

"...the what?" Shino asked.

A few of the dancers started to mutter, obviously confused that the Leaf ninja didn't know what they were talking about.

"Guess they don't cover Suna history in Leaf ninja academy." Kankuro grinned. "Not surprised. It's not a secret, but since we are only place the puppet corp have ever preformed...."

"What's an Iifernati?" Naruto asked.

"Well...that is old Suna history...but if you really want to know...Hey, Kankuro, Kaida, wanna help me tell em the story?"

Kankuro shrugged "Sure, why not. You wanna go first."

"Alright. Everyone! Take five and listen up! We are gonna tell the Leafs about the Iifernati and the tribes!"

Almost as one the dancers sat down around them in a semicircle, looking at the three storytellers with anticipation. They had all heard this story before, but it was a favorite in Suna.

Akio paused to make sure that everyone was looking at him, then began:

"First I want to tell you the legend passed down in Suna. They say that before there were people in the desert the land belonged to the Wind. The Wind was a force of both life and death. It gave the creatures of the desert breath, but it would also take that breath in an instant if crossed." Akio paused and looked at Kaida.

"The Wind was wild and free, and for centuries it ruled. Then, one day, the Demon of Fire came to Suna." Kaida said with a odd look at the Leaf nins, who shifted uncomfortably at the scrutiny.

"None know the Demon's true purpose, but the Wind did not like the Demon. The Demon mocked the Wind and said that it was far more powerful, and so should rule. It said that since the desert was so hot it had more of a claim then Wind." Kankuro continued.

"Taking a form of an eagle," Akio said "the Wind challenged the Demon to a battle. For three days and three nights they fought, but the Winds attacks would not work, for the Demon was of Fire and could eat the Wind."

"The Demon crushed the Wind in its hand and forced it to the sand, saying that if it loved the desert so much then it should return there for eternity." Kaida again.

"But then, at the last moment, the Wind heard a voice from the earth. 'I am the Sand. For centuries you have shaped me, Wind, and for centuries you have protected my borders. Let me help you now and between the two of us we will quench the fire." Kankuro said, his voice carefully neutral.

"And so the Wind picked up the Sand in her talons and covered the Fire. The Fire could not stand against both Wind and Sand, and so was overcome and reduced to embers." Akio again.

"But from those embers things sprang forth. Things that neither Wind nor Sand had ever seen before. Humans." Kaida again.

"The Wind and Sand were puzzled, and did not like the new arrivals. They did their utmost to destroy what they saw as pests on their home. But the humans became wise. They learned to use the oasis that littered the desert. They learned to read the moods of Wind and Sand, and became survivors."

"Eventually the Wind had found that she and Sand had shaped these people into creatures of the desert. The people were called the Iifernati, for the Demon of Fire's name was Iiferit."

"So, that is basically what a Sunaian is?" Naruto asked "Iifernati?"

Kaida frowned. You were not supposed to interupt the storytellers. "Yes and no. Every Sunaian has a bit of Iifernati blood, but there are few full blooded Iifernati now."

"What happened was." Kankuro said, picking the rythem back up "back before the Five nations were formed, when all the clans were fighting, criminals or outcasts from the clans were banished to Suna. You see, the Iifernati had no shinobi, and were thought of as evil barbarians. Add that to the fact that the place is kinda a wasteland." Kankuro shrugged.

"The Iifernati didn't like the invasion, much like in the legend we just told you. At first the clanless shinobi and the Iifernati clashed and fought. While the Iifernati have no chakra or shinobi skills, they knew the desert and had their own style of fighting." Akio continued.

"And then...why don't you just tell this part, Kankuro-sensei? This is your tribe we are talking about."

"You tribe?" Hinata asked.

Kankuro kind of winched "Yeah. An Iifernati tribe is not like a clan. Not everyone is related to one another. They are like small shinobi villages...yeah that's probably the best comparison. And...belive it or not this has a bit to do with your family, Hinata."

She blinked "Really?"

Kankuro nodded. "Among the clanless rogues was a Hyuga branch member named Toshi. He didn't like being attacked by the tribes on one side and the clans on the other. So, he decided that if his clan had forsaken him he instead would find a tribe. He went to Swooping Eagle Tribe, and demanded that they let him join. At first they weren't to sure about it. The Swooping Eagles were one of the most powerful of the tribes, and they had always hated the ninja. But they also recognized the advantages. They knew that the shinobi had great power, and that the Hyuga had one of the greatest among them. They told him that he could join, but only if he taught the young children of the Swooping Eagles ninjustu, and no one else. Also, he must forsake his name and clan and never again call himself a Hyuga. Now, by this time Toshi hated his own clan, and he said that, if the clan hated him so badly then he would gladly forsake them. He said 'I am Toshi Hyuga no more. Call me Toshi the Fatherless and I swear that I will dedicate my life to the Swooping Eagle, and no other.'

After that, the other tribes found themselves at even more of a disadvantage against the Swooping Eagle, for now they had young shinobi to fight for them, all taught by Toshi the Fatherless. Soon, the other tribes accepted the clanless shinobi to their ranks. Now, there are few people in Suna who are pure Iifernati or pure shinobi. Most of us are of mixed blood."

Hinata looked thoughtful "Toshi...I think I have heard of him. Neji and my uncle used to argue about him a lot...they thought that Neji's hatred would lead him down a similar path as Toshi's. No one ever told me what he did to deserve exile, though." she looked at Kankuro "Wait...does that mean you and I are related?"

Kankuro shrugged "Kinda, believe it or not. My uncle on my dad's side married Toshi's descendant. You got a distant cousin named Maro who's a Swooping Eagle...my cousin as well. In fact, a lot of shinobi clans have relatives that are in a Iifernati tribe, they just don't know it. Comes from being a descendant of exiles, I think. They don't like to talk about it much." he grinned a bit "That is also why Suna never really had a great relationship with you Leafs for a long time. Eventually we all kinda took on Toshi's old grudge, especially since our Kazekage came from the Swooping Eagles. "

Hinata still looked thoughtful. She had no idea that she might have relatives in Suna. It was an interesting thought. All of a sudden she very badly wanted to meet her distant cousin, if only to see what he was like.

Akio cleared his throat. "As much as I love sitting here shooting the breeze with you guys, we do have a rehearsal to finish."

Kankuro nodded "Right, sorry for keeping you from your nest, Chicken."

Akio laughed and ordered the dancers up to start again on the practice.

The rest of the Leaf's tour was conducted in almost complete silence.

* * *

"Temari, I need to have a word with you." Gaara said as he approched his sibling.

"Let me guess, it's about Kankuro, right?" Temari asked.

"Yes. I have an idea."

"What?"

"I have been looking over this scroll." Gaara produced a scroll from his robes. "It says something very interesting. Its an old tale about a man who became a hyena at night and became a human during the day."

Temari felt a chill "So?'

"Temari, do you not find it odd that every time we see this wolf creature Kankuro is not around? Not to mention the fact that he acts more and more like a wolf as time goes by."

"You can be saying that Kankuro is turning into a wolf! I mean, it's ridiculous!"

"Just the same, I want you and me to watch over him tonight."

"WHAT!?"

"I want you and I to sneak into his room tonight and watch him while he sleeps. I want to see if he turns into a wolf."

Temari shook her head. "It can't be real."

"I want to at least make sure. I want to be certain."

Temari sighed "Fine...fine..."

* * *

That night, as Kankuro slept, his siblings entered his room stealthy and set up watch. Hours went by. Nine o' clock. Then ten o' clock. Then Eleven. By this time the moon was shining straight into Kankuro's room.

Nothing changed. Nothing at all. At least nothing that the two siblings could see. But then again, Kankuro had turned on his side. They did not see the brief moment when his teeth and nails lengthened, then retracted.

For you see, a waning moon is not as powerful as a full one.

The night wore on, and nothing changed.

And nothing would again...for that month at least...

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I don't know where I got all this stuff about Suna. It comes from my head, what can I say? And I don't know where all that stuff about the Hyugas came in from. But when it occurred to me I just could not resist it.

It will come up again, though. This is not just my version of the Dreaded Filler...at least I hope it won't turn out that way.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

The Wolf Emerges

Much later in life Gaara would look back on that month and think that he should have predicted what had happened. As time went by Kankuro became more and more normal. The rare burgers stopped altogether, and while he did have a few moments of temper, as the days went by he became less wolflike. In time, Kiba admitted that even his scent was becoming more and more human.

By the time he was completely normal the moon was in its new phase.

And then, as the moon began to wax Kankuro's wolflike temperament slowly returned. He became snappish and grouchy, and the rare burgers made a return appearance.

Gaara tried to ignore this, telling himself that this was all in his mind.

But then something happened that no one could possibly ignore.

* * *

Shikamaru sighed when he got to the front gates of Suna. It was way to hot in the desert. It made him tired...okay more tired then usual. It didn't seem to be affecting Neji though, which was irritating.

While the guards at the gates didn't give them much trouble, since they had seen Leafs coming in and out of their village for the past month they now only gave the foreign nins cursory glances, they had asked what was in the bag the two ninja were carrying. That, unfortunately, was something that Shikamaru was only willing to share with Gaara.

And he wanted to get to the Kazekage now, before the blasted, bothersome thing started to stink.

The only good thing about this was the fact that Neji was using his Byakugan to get them to Kazekage's office quickly, because this place reminded Shikamaru of a sandy, sandy anthill.

When they at last made it the tower a they were assaulted by a certain energetic young ninja.

"Neji! Shikamaru! It is great to see the both of you! Why are you here?" Rock Lee burst upon them with his characteristic huge grin.

"Lee." Neji nodded at his teammate in what was, for him, a rather warm gesture. Fortunately, Rock Lee was as familiar with his teammates even temper as Neji was with Lee's energetic one. Lee treated this the same way a normal person would have welcomed a warm smile and perhaps a friendly hug.

Shikamaru held up the bag. "We got something here we need to show the Kazekage."

"Really, so you bring my brother presents but you don't bring anything for the rest of us?" Temari, apparently hearing Rock Lee's shouted greeting, walked up to them and gave Shikamaru a little smirk.

"It's not a present, here, take a look." Shikamaru handed her the bag.

She took a peek, frowned and looked at the shadow ninja. "Something you're not telling me about Konoha, Shadow boy? I didn't think you people were into weird kinky stuff..."

Shikamaru gave her a weird little grin. It was, in fact, the same weird little grin that just about everyone in Konoha had seen the shadow master give her for a few years now. Even the most oblivious of people, Naruto, had noticed it the day he got back.

Neji rolled his eyes (though you really could not tell seeing as he had no pupils to speak of). Honestly, how long were these two going to flirt? It was getting almost irritating.

Rock Lee, who while loud and extroverted was not oblivious, had noticed the looks that the two had been throwing each other. Lee was a romantic at heart, and it irritated him that two young people, obviously attracted to one another, seemed to spend so much time dancing around the issue. Surly they knew how short life was! Especially for ninja like them! So, why did they persist in acting like there was nothing between them! Something had to be done about this, before the opportunity was wasted!

So, in that moment, Rock Lee decided that now would be an excellent time to play 'matchmaker'. Ever since Kakashi had introduced him to the strange "Make Out" series that the copy ninja loved so much...well Lee felt a sudden inspiration hit!

He lightly shoved against Shikamaru, causing him to trip.

However, since any blow given by Rock Lee carried the human equivalent of a train at full throttle, Shikamaru, who had not been expecting this at all (not even he could discern what exactly went on in Rock Lee's head), ended up flying into Temari in what could only be described as a collision.

It was very, very unfortunate that the shadow master's right hand, in an attempt to halt the fall, instead found a place that one might call...inappropriate. Temari's chest.

Shikamaru's normally brilliant mind was now almost completely and utterly consumed by one word: and that word began with a b. Though he had always been a strategic thinker he was, when all was set an done, a male. And even though he had always claimed women as pesky and irritating...well hormones are hormones and all of a sudden Shikamaru's was making itself known.

Temari hovered between a desire to kill Shikamaru and a strange urge to...let this happen. To be honest she did find the Leaf ninja not completely unattractive. While she had initially thought of him as a lazy idiot barely worth her notice, over the years she had started to admire a his better qualities. Like his mind, and his sense of honor...and okay a few more physical things.

However, the choice was taken away from her. All of a sudden a roar of rage came from above and Shikamaru was jerked from her.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER!"

That voice...it was so unlike her brother...but...

"Kankuro?" she said, but he was not listening. He was glaring at Shikamaru in a total rage. His face, always a bit scary looking with that purple face paint, was contorted in an expression that, with a chill, Temari knew very well. She had seen it before, on their father.

"Hey, whoa, settle down Kankuro." Shikamaru tried to defuse the situation, but Kankuro was not interested. With another roar he slammed the shadow master to the ground, balled up his fist and started to punch Shikamaru unmercifully.

"Hey! Hold it!" Temari was frightened, now more then ever. Now, her brother had always had a reputation for being merciless, it was what made him a great Sand ninja. However, she had always known that it was not personal for her brother. It was always just duty. But these seemed different. More personal, more close to home.

And she did not like it.

Temari grabbed Kankuro's shoulder and he turned on her. And then Temari heard the snarling. Her brother was snarling like a beast.

His eyes meet hers, and once again, just like the day she saw him eating a raw rabbit, she didn't see her brother. She saw a wild animal.

"Kankuro." she said sternly "Look at yourself." it would pass, it had to pass!

Realization dawned in his eyes. For a second he looked like he was going to fall apart. Then, he collected himself and stood up. He didn't look at anybody but Temari. He knew if he did he would lose his composure.

"I'm sorry. I meant it, but I am sorry." he said, his voice almost breaking. Slowly, as if in a trance, he walked away.

For a long moment no one spoke, then, Rock Lee said quietly "Temari, it did not go away, did it?"

"No," she said sadly "It looks like it didn't."

"What are you talking about?" Neji asked "What is wrong with him?"

"It's the wolf..." Temari said. "You see, last month...

* * *

Gaara gave the four of them a look. "So it is back, is it?" he said. He could tell from Temari's expression that it had to be about Kankuro, and the blood on Shikamaru's face was further evidence of that fact.

"Yes." Temari said.

"What happened?"

"Well..." Temari was not sure that she wanted to explain all of that, but she did. In the end, Gaara did not know whether to laugh at the mental image of her and the Leaf on the ground like that or to be horrified that his sister had been in such a position. However much he himself felt like hurting Shikamaru (and Rock Lee for instigating this), he had a feeling that Temari had had enough of possessive overprotective little brothers for the day.

Oh but they were going to talk about this.

But later.

"Well, what made the two of you come here, anyway?" Gaara asked.

In response, Neji took the bag they had been caring and dumped it's contents on the desk.

It was a severed human hand.

Gaara stared at the thing. "What is this about?"

"A few days ago my team and I found a wolf creature. We managed to trap it. We were going to take it back to Konoha, but it did not work out that way." Neji said grimly "In the end it escaped, but I managed to take off its hand...paw...whatever. When we picked it up it turned into a human hand. This hand. We brought it here because we thought you might want to take a look at it."

Gaara stared at the hand for some time. "Please, leave Temari and me. We must speak. Alone."

Neji nodded and he and the others turned to leave.

"Not to be crass, but I don't think we should spend to much time with each other." Shikamaru said to Temari. "Not until your brother is done with his time of the month, or whatever is wrong with him."

For some reason Temari failed to come up with a witty retort.

As soon as the Leaf ninja were gone Temari turned to Gaara "Let me guess. We are going to watch him again tonight."

Gaara nodded.

* * *

Kankuro's snores could shake a house.

Gaara had always hated that noise, especially when he was younger. It always sounded to him like his brother was...malfunctioning. His uncle had never snored, and the noise was...irritating. Especially when he himself could not sleep. It was like Kankuro was rubbing his nose in it.

Now, however, he knew that Kankuro could not help the snoring.

It was still irritating, though, but at least it was a handy way to tell when Kankuro was asleep.

Temari and Gaara slowly walked into the room. Both of them were tense and scared. Sure, nothing had happened last time, but...

For some reason, Gaara felt like there was something different about tonight.

There was Kankuro, snoring peacefully. But then...

Gaara knew they had not made a noise, they were experts at stealth. However, Kankuro's nostrils flared, and his eyes flew open.

He had smelled them.

All at once he leaped up, snarling and growling. "What the hell are you two doing my room! What is wrong with you!"

"Kankuro, settle down, we-" Temari started to say.

"This is my place! You have no right! No....no..." all of a sudden his eyes went blank and he screamed. His hands flew to his stomach and he doubled over in pain.

"Kankuro..." Gaara took a step towards him.

Kankuro held up a hand, as if to stop him. The clouds that had covered the sky cleared, and Gaara could see what was happening. They all could.

The backs of Kankuro's hands were growing hair...no, not hair. Fur. Long, dark fur. His nails were lengthening and sharping, becoming claws.

Kankuro stared at his hands. "No, it's not possible!" he looked up at his siblings, as if to ask them what kind of silly genjutsu was this? "They were just dreams! They weren't real! Just dreams!"

And thats when the snapping sounds started. At first Gaara couldn't remember where he heard snapping like before. Then he remembered.

It was the cracking of bones.

Kankuro screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Gaara could see it clearly now. The way his brother's legs were morphing, shifting, changing. The heels were traveling up Kankuro's legs until the were almost to the middle of his leg bone. His feet were expanding and spreading outward, becoming broader. New muscles seemed to spring up, in order to support a foot that seemed designed to stand entirely on the tiptoes. His toenails were going the way of his fingernails, becoming more like claws.

Kankuro's face was also changing. His jaw was twisting, morphing, and starting to burst forward in the shape of a muzzle. His teeth sharpened. He was growing fangs.

And it hurt, you could tell it hurt. His face, even as it was becoming more like a wolfs, was contorted in pain. His screams echoed through the room.

The screaming, more then anything, was what really broke Gaara's heart. He suddenly realized the difference between his own transformations and Kankuro's. The demon of the Sand never hurt Gaara.

This thing, whatever it was, was making Kankuro suffer.

For as long as he lived Gaara had rarely let another touch him, much less touched another. But now, watching his brother's torment, he felt a sudden protective instinct. As if in a horrifying dream Gaara walked over to his brother, knelt down beside him and wrapped his arms around Kankuro.

This, for a moment, seemed to reach Kankuro. The screams stopped, and the transformations seemed to slow. "G-Gaara?" Kankuro said, as if waking from a dream.

"Fight the wolf, Kankuro. Fight it." Gaara whispered. "I know you can. I have faith in you. Don't let it do this to you."

"I can't. I can't" His voice was started become more guttural as more of his muzzle began to form.

"You can. Focus. I am here for you."

"Gaara." Kankuro muttered. "I'm sorry. So sorry." Kankuro put his hands on Gaara's shoulders and with a mighty heave shoved him away. "Don't come close to me! Don't let me hurt you!"

Gaara stared at his brother. His head was now almost completely wolf. The last thing to change was his nose, which became a snout. His ears had traveled to the top of his head and became pointed.

Another snap, and Kankuro's back arched. His tail bone lengthened, and part of his spine literally burst of of his back. Gaara watched in horror as muscles and skin coved the new appendage and covered itself with fur.

A tail.

All the while the fur had grown. Dark brown on Kankuro's back and lighter around the stomach. It looked very much like the fur of a typical wolf. It was long and almost silky. Almost soft looking.

"Gaara, Temari." the voice that emerged from that muzzle was indeed Kankuro's voice, but so altered! "Run. Please. I can't...I.."

He closed his still human, brown eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes they were no longer brown. The whites were now yellow. The iris a bright red.

And all the humanity, all the reason, everything that made Kankuro a human, seemed to be gone now.

The werewolf reared on his hind legs, lifted his head to the ceiling, and howled.

"Awooo!"


	9. Chapter 9

An Author's Note: OC alert.

Yes, I like to let people know when I have an OC alert.

* * *

Chapter Nine

The Internal Workings of a Werewolf

Gaara tensed and readied for battle. He did not like the idea of hurting Kankuro, but if the wolf attacked then he would have no choice. His sand gourd began to leak its sand as he prepared to strike.

Temari put a hand on his shoulder. "Gaara, wait. Let me try something."

Gaara frowned "What are you planning?"

"Let me see if I can reach him."

"...reach him." Gaara repeated. Yes, that was a good idea. While he saw this beast as a monster...what if he was wrong, as the villages had been about him? Just because his brother seemed more animal then man that did not mean that he could not be reached. "Go ahead Temari, but be careful."

Temari nodded and put her fan down. She walked slowly to Kankuro, holding her hands up in a calming gesture. "Hey...boy." she said softly. "Just relax. It's okay."

Gaara sighed. Hey boy? What was Temari thinking? This was not some stray nin dog that had wandered into their front yard!

Kankuro cocked his head to one side, very much like a dog in puzzlement. It was clear he did not fully understand what was being said, but as his forehead furrowed and his eyes narrowed...

It looked like he was trying to think. Trying to understand. Gaara felt a thrill of excitement, though his face remained passive. Maybe there was a way to bring their brother back!

Temari slowly reached out a hand and placed it gently on side of Kankuro's muzzle. The wolf lifted his lips a bit, but did not snarl or growl. Encouraged by the fact that she still retained all of her fingers, Temari slowly started to...

Good grief, now Gaara really though that Temari was confused! She was freaking petting Kankuro like he was dog!

Still, it seemed to be working. The wolf was actually starting to thump its tail, not quite a wag, but it defiantly seemed somewhat content. A strange huffing noise emmited from Kankuro, he gave Temari a gentle lick on the forhead. She smiled and turned to Gaara.

And now, if this was a horror story, Temari would have lost her arm to the terrible beast.

However, it was not like this. Gaara simply retured his sister's smile. This was working out better then he had thought! So maybe his brother was not totally human anymore? It seemed he still possesed some reason.

"Perhaps I should tell the others that we have nothing to fear." Gaara said as he turned to leave.

But then Kankuro's head shot up. He sniffed the air and growled. He turned and with a mighty howl leaped out of the window. It was a pretty impressive leap, it brought him straight to the next door neighbor's roof.

Right were Neji and Shikamaru had been watching them.

Gaara, knowing that this might have gone wrong, had made the Leaf ninja aware of his suspicions about his brother. While the two newer Leafs had been skeptical, the ones who had seen Kankuro's behavior over the past month had been willing to listen, especially Kiba. Kiba had still disliked the smell coming from Kankuro, which actually upset him very greatly. It was not just the smell, but the fact that he now found the man who had saved both himself and Akamaru repulsive upset Kiba. He had always been a loyal person at heart, and the idea that something like smell would force him away from someone who he considered a kind of friend annoyed him.

Gaara had asked the Leaf ninja to position themselves around the Kazekage's dwelling, making sure that they would be able to come to his aid if Kankuro turned into a wolf and attacked. Well, the worst case scenario had happened, and Kankuro was on the attack.

The beast snarled and lunged at Shikamaru, who was kneeling on the ground in his thinking position. The shadow master's shadow lunged at the wolf.

It did absolutely nothing.

And then Kankuro was on them. Howling in fury the wolf slashed with one hand and brought the other up in a strange looking uppercut.

Shikamaru jerked back, and the wolf's claws just grazed him. Neji, on the other had, stared at the wolf in astonishment. He was trying to find Kankuro's chakra points. He knew that the puppet master had them, but they seemed to have vanished for some reason.

This, more then anything, prevented Neji from attacking. He had basically figured out that ninjutsu was ineffective against these wolf creatures, and so he had no idea if attacking would do anything.

Fortunately for Shikamaru, someone else was speeding towards them, and he knew that his attacks would work.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Kankuro turned at the sound of Rock Lee's voice and tried to block as Rock Lee's foot slammed into his midsection. Snarling Kankuro stumbled back and Lee pressed his advantage. Kicking, punching and basically royally smiting, Lee pounded on the wolf with no sign of mercy. Kankuro tried to fight back, snarling, biting and clawing, but Lee was to fast and to powerful. With a resounding crack, Lee's foot meet the side of Kankuro head. With a pained yip, Kankuro fell to the ground and lay still.

Rock Lee turned to Gaara and Temari as they finally caught up with their brother. "I am sorry that I had to use such force against him, but he left me little choice."

Gaara gazed at his unconscious brother sadly, not knowing what to say.

* * *

Kankuro did not wake up happy.

It was still night, so the fact that he was still a wolf had a big part of that. Also, the fact that, while he was out cold, his brother and sister had taken him to the hospital, chained him to a bed with the strongest chains they could find, and put a muzzle on him might also have contributed to his bad mood. He woke up and started to growl again, and he snapped at anyone who came close. Of course, the muzzle prevented him from doing any damage.

This, however, only made his siblings even more upset.

"I don't like tying him up like this." Temari muttered.

"We cannot have him running around attacking people." Gaara said, even more upset then his sister. This was way to familiar to him in many ways. Sure, he had never been tied up like this, but that was only because no one had been able to get close enough to him to try. And there was the fact that he absolutely hated seeing his brother like this. Even if Kankuro didn't even look like himself, the fact was that he was still Gaara's brother, and this hurt. A lot.

And it was not just that. The fact that every single freaking Leaf ninja in the Sand Village had decided to turn up...

Okay, it may have been more about moral support than anything else, but Gaara was still not happy with the situation. But the fact was they did need the Leafs here. Gaara was certain that between Naruto, Rock Lee, Hinata and Neji they would have enough taijutsu power to restrain Kankuro in case those chains snapped. Shikamaru was still one of the smartest people that Gaara knew, and he was here in case he had any insight. Kiba probably knew more about canines then any of them, and Shino...well Gaara could not just invite everyone else to the scene and not the most prickly of the bunch. Besides, the bugs might be useful. And Sakura's medical knowledge would no doubt come in handy.

Speaking of which:

"I have the x-rays back." Sakura entered the room with sheets of paper. It was similar to the medical jutsu that Sakura had used to cure Kankuro of the poison that had been used on him, although the marks were different for looking at bones. The papers had what looked like detailed drawings of Kankuro's now malformed skeleton.

"The biggest difference is here, at the legs and feet and in the head." Sakura said. "It looks like his feet have completely transformed, as has the head." She pointed at the oddly shaped appendages. "Other then that all that has happened is major fur growth. Oh, and not to mention the tail."

"Indeed." Temari grumbled. "Mustn't forget the tail."

At the sound of Temari's voice Kankuro enraged howls changed into a plaintive sounding whine.

Gaara frowned. "He was alright when you spoke to him, Temari. Why did he suddenly snap like that?"

Shikamaru frowned "I want to try something. Temari, go over there and talk to him."

"About what?"

"Anything, it doesn't matter."

Temari rolled her eyes and walked over to her bound brother. She stared talking to him with an uncharacteristically gentle tone. "Hey, Kankuro. You know if you wouldn't attack people like this then we wouldn't have to do this to you. You know I think that you should settle down and...oh my God Gaara, he's giving me the cookie look." At Gaara's puzzled glance she explained "It's the look he used to give me when he was little and he wanted a cookie. Look at it, it's completely pathetic."

And indeed, Kankuro was giving Temari a distinctly begging look. A look that seemed just plain puppyish. And he was whining again.

"That is definitely a submissive whine." Kiba whispered. And the sound of his voice Kankuro jerked his head towards Kiba and snarled. "And that was definitely not a submissive noise." the dog ninja said.

"Hmmm, Temari stop....Hinata, you try talking to him." Shikamaru said.

Hinata took Temari's place and started talking just as gently to Kankuro. Just general nonsense about this and that. However, Kankuro did not respond as he had with Temari. He did kind of thump his tail, but other then that he seemed to ignore the shy Hyuga. There were no more "cookie looks".

One by one Shikamaru had the people in the room talk to Kankuro. They got different responses. Kiba, Shino, Rock Lee and Shikamaru each got vicious, horrible snarls. Neji, Sakura and Naruto got mild indifference and Gaara just got a very very odd look from his brother.

"Hmm, this is interesting." Shikamaru said. "It looks like different people set him off in different ways..."

"What do you think the connection is?" Naruto asked.

"Give me a few more moments. Temari, does this," Shikamaru moved his hands in the same way Kankuro had tried to slash him "mean anything to you?'

Temari and Kiba gasped and Gaara seemed to stand a bit straighter.

"Hey! I've seen that before!" Kiba said "He used those hand signs for that Iron Maiden technique of his when he saved me!"

Shikamaru nodded. "Now, I am not sure of what is going on in Kankuro's head, but this is what I think is going on. I think that, just like his body is part wolf and part human his mind might also have divided between human and wolf. He can recognize your voice a little bit, Temari, but he can't seem to recognize the rest of us as well. Some of what he does is similar to his behavior as a human. I don't know how much of his human memory is there, but there is something that stays the same even when he becomes a wolf, just like something of the wolf remains when he is a human."

Gaara nodded "It makes some sense. However, what I want to know is how to reverse the effect."

Neji frowned "I can see no chakra emanating from him. It is like all of his chakra pathways have been cut off. When he transformed I could see something building inside of him, a force similar to the one I saw the night that ritual was preformed. It is not chakra energy, but something foreign. We are not dealing with any type of jutsu here, of that I am certain."

"It is something foreign then." Gaara growled. "Those wolf beasts. Whatever is wrong with Kankuro they are at the root of it."

"Hey, guys. The sun is rising." Naruto noted.

Sakura nodded and walked over to Kankuro "I want to scan him with my chakra while he transforms back. Maybe I will learn something."

Gaara thought that perhaps going back to human might be less painful for Kankuro. It was not.

Kankuro started whine and yip in pain. His back arched and the tail sucked itself back inside his body with a resounding crunch. This crunch produced a yelp from Kankuro. His legs began to shift to normal, his fur began to recede and his head was morphing back to human. It was clear, though that all of this was hurting Kankuro badly.

Finally, the last of the fur vanished and Kankuro let out one last wolfish whine and his eyes changed back to normal.

He looked around at the concerned looking ninja around him and said "Hey, you think you guys can take off this blasted muzzle? It's been pinching me all night!"

* * *

Far away, in the Land of Rain, five wolflike figures ran. Okay, four of them ran, the fourth was limpling badly because it longer had a paw.

"Hurry up you idiot!" the werewolf in the lead growled at the straggler "I'll leave you behind if you do not hurry up!"

The pawless one growled. It would be no good to argue. Their little group of outcasts had no room for the weak, after all.

Finally, they reached their destination, a small rock quarry. It was a small, cramped area, and the rocks were literally covered with lounging, panting, growling werewolves. They stared at the pawless werewolf, who cringed back. They sensed his weakness, and the poor creature could feel his status in the pack slipping away. Trying to stay low he started to limp towards the bard who was giving him a mild look. He knew the groups bard could heal his stump and stop the bleeding with his song.

However...

"Halt. Aftan." a voice came from the top of the quarry. Aftan, the injured one, cringed even lower to the ground. He knew that voice.

Cragga.

Cragga was a large golden furred werewolf with unusually long front claws and teeth. She was the most powerful of the group, and this made her the leader.

She jumped down and stared at Aftan with contempt. "How did that happen?" she asked with mild curiosity, but no compassion.

"I...it was one of the shadow people! They-"

"Fool!" Cragga snapped at the poor werewolf. "Some shadow man pokes at you with his little butter knife and you roll over like puppy! Idiot! Weakling!" she sneered "Did you at least accomplish you mission, puppy?"

"We did, Cragga!" One of the other werewolves said "The Land of Smoke is indeed planing to attack! With the information we leaked to them they will surely launch their plan sooner then they expected!"

"Good." Cragga smiled. It was not a pleasant expression. "I want the four of you to keep monitoring the situation." the handless werewolf cringed again, knowing that this exclusion meant a lowering of his status.

With that, Cragga walked away and settled down in her tent. She grinned. Most would have killed that fool, but not Cragga. She saw her people as resources, and she was not in the habit of throwing them away. Weak that he was, Aftan might still have some use. She had no idea what that use might be, but she knew that something would occur to her.

For she was a beast of plans.

Right now she had the beginnings of two. One depended on the Land of Smoke. The other depended on the brother of the Land of Wind's Chieftain.

She grinned. It was never good to keep all of ones eggs in one basket, after all.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Bodyguard

Once Kankuro had been unchained and the muzzled removed Gaara started to ask him some questions. He knew that it was important to get the bottom of this.

"How much do remember of last night, Kankuro?"

Kankuro shrugged. "It was weird. I could hear you guys just fine but I couldn't fully recognize you. I heard your voice, Temari, and I knew that I cared about you but I could not remember why. I could hear Shino's voice and I knew that for some reason I didn't like you."

You could tell Shino was tense about this.

Kankuro grinned at the bug master "Hey, you did almost kill me, remember?"

Shino hesitated for a second, then gave a barely civil nod.

"So, why didn't you let us know about this before?" Gaara asked. "Didn't this happen last month as well?"

Kankuro shrugged again "I honestly thought they were just dreams. I would go to sleep and the next thing I knew I was running around outside hunting things and howling at the moon. I remember not being able to see like I usually do, and sounds were strange and the smells were even stranger. I didn't think it was real."

"But surly the pain would have woken you up..." Gaara said thoughtfully.

Sakura frowned "Maybe not if he was really deeply asleep. Maybe you just didn't resist it when you were asleep, so the change happened faster. The pain might have woken you up, but by then it was to late."

Kankuro nodded. "When I changed I could feel it inside of me. I tried to fight it, but that just made the pain worse." He paused for a second and then continued "Gaara, it is not like the Shukaku. I can't control this thing. I tried, I really did, but I don't thing I can stop it the next time it comes. I don't know if I can control it when I change."

Rock Lee piped up "Normally, I would suggest rigorous training and practice, but in this case I do not believe ti would be that effective. Good training requires repetition, but if this transformation only happens for three days, then it the time between the transformations..." Rock Lee shook his head "Not even I believe that it can be done. There must be another option!"

"There is!" Naruto growled and punched his fist into his palm "Find those wolves and force em to change Kankuro back!"

Kankuro nodded "In the meantime, I guess we should get one of the cells ready."

Naruto stopped punching himself "Huh? You expecting prisoners?"

Kankuro grinned, a grin that Temari recognized. It was one he generally used when he was about to do something he knew absolutely had to be done, but hated it anyway "Yeah, me."

Naruto jerked in surprise "What! No!"

"It has to be done." Kankuro said simply. "As long as this thing is inside me I can't be trusted. I will not put my homeland in danger. I shouldn't be allowed to walk free as long as this continues."

Gaara closed his eyes. "I agree."

"Gaara! You can't be serious! Putting your own brother in prison!" Naruto turned to the Kazekage, clearly agitated.

Kankuro snarled and all of a sudden he was right there in Naruto's face, teeth bared. Naruto jerked back, surprised.

"You don't seem to understand, fox boy. I'm not a human anymore. Heck, I'm not even a Jinchuriki like you! I'm something different and I don't know what! I can't allow myself to hurt my own people, no matter what it costs me."

Naruto glared back at Kankuro "I understand that, you think I don't! But the fact is, you haven't hurt anyone. Not really. You've lost you temper, yeah. You've killed some animals. But you haven't killed a human. And I don't think you ever will."

"We can't be sure about that!" Kankuro shouted "I might have killed all of you last night if it hadn't been for...who the heck hit me again?"

"That would be me." Rock Lee said quietly.

"Yeah, thanks by the way." Kankuro said as he turned back to Naruto. "Look, I can guess what your deal is, but the fact is that this is necessary. I am not going to let myself hurt anybody. I am going to the jail, and no one is going to stand in my way. Not you. Not anyone."

Gaara also could guess why Naruto was suddenly acting like Kankuro's best buddy now. The fox Jinchuriki had always held a great deal of empathy for those with inconvenient powers, particularly his tailed vessel brethren. Now that Kankuro had a monster inside of him, like Naruto did and Gaara once had, Naruto was starting to feel somewhat more protective of him. However, Gaara knew that Kankuro would not appreciate the gesture as much as Gaara himself had. For one thing he would resent the fact that Naruto was only being nice to him because of the wolf. For another, Kankuro had always been the kind of person to put his village first, and the idea of putting the village at risk for personal reasons would not fly with Kankuro. Gaara could not help but think of the Uchiha thing. Gaara knew, if anyone ever betrayed the Sand and joined the enemy like that brat Sasuke had then Kankuro would have been the first to attack and bring that person down, no matter what the relationship. In fact, the only reason Kankuro had never went up against Gaara when they were younger was because by the time they were genin Gaara had proven that, while he did not care for the people in the village he would fight for them. It had been enough.

Shikamaru coughed "Can I make a suggestion? Now, this whole thing seems based on the phases of the moon. Right now it is full, and for some reason this wolf is most powerful at that time. It also seems to happen mostly at night. Now, I can tell you are still not completely rational at the moment, Kankuro, but you obviously are still aware of yourself. Here is what I suggest. I do think that you should be locked up, but only during the full moon."

Kankuro glared at Shikamaru. "Yeah? And what if I attack someone as a human? I attacked you, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." Shikamaru said with a wry look "I think it might also be a good idea to assign you some sort of bodyguard in case you go nuts on us. Someone skilled in taijutsu who could knock you out..." his eyes drifted to Rock Lee.

Lee, however, was shaking his head "I would be willing to do anything to help, but unfortunately my way of doing this would be blunt force trauma to the head, which is not something that I would recommend for anyone on a regular basis. Who knows how long the cure might take, and I do not want to risk causing permanent damage...but I know who would be perfect." he looked at Neji, who gave his teammate an irritated look.

"...Neji?" Gaara asked, clearly wanting Rock Lee to elaborate.

Neji sighed "The Gentle Fist style is more then just blocking chakra points. It also emphasizes pressure points. Technically I could incapacitate a man without having to resort to Lee's....bigger hammer approach. And a pressure point is not a ninjutsu or a genjutsu. I could preform it without having to use any chakra."

"Are you sure that it'll work on me when I'm a wolf?" Kankuro asked. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I look a wee bit different. Who knows if these pressure points are the same as a humans?"

Gaara said "We could probably test it out tonight when you change. Of course, that depends on whether or not you are willing to do this, Neji."

Neji sighed. He did not like this at all. He just did not want to stay in this place for so long. But, on the other hand, he recognized the need to do this. "I am willing."

* * *

"You know, I don't think Gaara meant that you needed to follow me home like this." Kankuro sneered at Neji as they left the hospital.

"We might as well get used to each other." the Hyuga shrugged. "Trust me, I am not exactly eager for you company as well."

"Oh, nice. You know, maybe it is good you are following me. You might learn something about loosening up. I mean, I know that stick you got lodged up your ass is not as far up there as it used to be, but still..."

"Kankuro. There you are." Baki, who had been watching the hospital doors for a while, walked over to the pair "I heard." he said.

"I see." Kankuro said.

"You alright?" Baki asked, and the two Sand ninja started to walk down the street. After a bit, Neji followed.

"Fine."

"Good."

A couple of grunts followed this, after which was nothing but companionable silence. Baki, while concerned about Kankuro, was not the type to fawn over his students. However, he really didn't need to. Simply being next to them was enough, and while they did not have the same relationship that certain Leaf ninja had with there students, they were still pretty close.

It was simply not the Sand ninja way to be overly emotional to one another. Baki himself had drilled that into Temari and Kankuro when they were young. Temari had been seven and her brother had been five. He could remember taking them out while their father either drank or slept with prostitutes, or both, and training with them. Of course, Kankuro just thought he was playing with his little bamboo snake puppet, but Temari was old enough to know what was going on. She was also mature enough to know a very vital truth: Daddy had changed when Mommy died and now she was on her own with her little brother. Baki had had to teach her that, while it was alright to care for Kankuro, she should never ever show outward affection towards him, especially not in front of other ninja. They could use it against her, or him. It was just bad luck that Temari was, in fact, a very warm and loving person and sometimes her good nature would shine through.

It was a good thing, therefore, that the two older siblings were actually very much like their father. They both had the Fourth's temper and aggression. Although Baki would never tell Kankuro this. He knew how much Kankuro hated their father, and in Baki's mind it would do the boy no good to know how similar they were. The fact was that the Fourth Kazekage had not always been the man that his sons knew him as, which was as an evil bastard. But Baki had known the Fourth before the long war that had racked Suna at the disappearance of the Third Kazekage. The war that had, in many ways, changed the then decent young man the Fourth had been into a ruthless killer. Still, even so, the man's wife had in many ways been able to balance her husband's aggressive nature, but when she had died things had...spiraled. The end result was that the Kazekage's children only knew the evil sides of their father, and not the good parts that tragedy had destroyed. And, no matter how much he wanted to, Baki could never tell Kankuro how proud the Fourth Kazekage would have been of his sons. Both of them.

Baki was so lost in thought that he did not notice they were at the sibling's home until they were at the front door. Baki raised his eyebrows at Neji.

Kankuro grinned and jerked his thumb at the Leaf ninja "He followed me home, Baki. Can we keep him?"

Neji glared at the puppeteer, wondering if maybe he should practice those pressure points a bit more...

Baki glanced at Neji and grunted. "You might want to feed him if he is staying here." with that Baki turned and left, satisfied that his student would alright. He only knew Neji as the crazy-as-a-sewer-rat young man who had tired to kill his sister (or cousin, Baki was not sure which) that kept babbling about fate or some such nonsense. However, he trusted Gaara's judgment.

Kankuro, who by now was also very hungry, went straight to the kitchen and started to cook, which had Neji blinking in surprise.

"You can cook?"

Kankuro smirked "We can't all be waited on hand and foot by hordes of servants."

"I do not get waited on hand and foot by hordes of servants." Neji growled. "The servants are not technically mine anyway. They are my uncles."

"But you still get waited on hand and foot." Kankuro teased.

"No, I don't" Neji growled bitterly "Branch member, remember?"

"Oh, lighten up." Kankuro growled. "It's just an old Sunaian prejudice thing. We always joke that you Fire Landers are spoiled soft pushovers that do nothing but soak in pools and eat bon bons all day."

"...bon bons?"

"Like I said: lighten up. You are making me tense." Kankuro finished frying whatever it was he was frying and shoved a plate towards Neji "Here, hope you like bacon."

Neji sighed. It was going to be long mission. He could tell that Kankuro was going to drive him insane.

Kankuro watched Neji, the stiff way he ate...hell the man always seemed to be stiff. Maybe it was just the desert, or maybe it was the company, but the fact was the Neji was doing a very good impersonation of a upright stick. Kankuro remembered the way the guy had been during the exams, and came to one conclusion.

Neji was going to drive him insane.


	11. Chapter 11

An Author's Note: The Count for this story is at 5.

Yeah...this is an old habit I have leftover from when I started fanfic writing. My first story I kept a running count of my reviewers. This was back when I actually thought the number of reviews as a reflection of quality of work. I've grown up since then, but I still do the Reviewer Count around the tenth chapter of a new story. Hey, we all have our little superstitions.

Anwho, I would like to thank you all. Thanks for reading. Hope yall will stay with me.

Now...what was I talking about...oh yeah...

Oh yeah. OC and OS alert.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Poisonous Things

After eating breakfast Kankuro got up and said something that perplexed Neji to no end:

"Well, I got to go milk the critters now."

Neji stared at him. Since when did the Kazekage live on a farm? "What? You have a cow?" he asked.

Kankuro rolled his eyes "Yes Hyuga, I have a cow. Also sheep, chickens and that bacon you just ate? I slaughtered it myself just yesterday, of course I don't have a cow, you fool. I'm talking about..." the puppeteer sighed. It would do no harm to show the Leaf the shack. After all, the "no giving away puppeteer secrets" rule really only applied to training methods, chakra manipulation and whatever it was that went on in the labs. Milking was not part of it, seeing as how other people did it as well. "Come on and you'll see."

Bristling about being called an idiot by a man that wore freaking cosmetics, Neji followed Kankuro as he lead the Hyuga out the back to a rather large...well it was a shack. Still not sure that a cow would not appear in the near future, Neji sighed and walked in.

Right into a arachnophobiac's nightmare.

The place had dim lighting, but there was enough. Oh yes, there was enough light to see every single skittery, crawly, jumpy spider in the place. Thankfully they were all in little tanks, some filled with leaves and sticks others with sand and small rocks. Further on Neji could see lizards, a few scorpions and snakes. In the middle of the shack was a bench with mortar and pestles, bottles, jars and other alchemical devices.

Neji finally realized what Kankuro had meant by "milking". He was talking about milking the poison from venomous animals. "You make your own poisons then?" he asked.

"Yeah," Kankuro said "It's just one of those skills you learn as a puppeteer. We'll just do the spiders and snakes for now. Here, make yourself useful and hold this bottle while I get our first customer." Kankuro shoved a bottle into Neji's hand and walked over to a tank. Carefully and delicately he reached in a snagged a large, black, bulbous looking spider with a red hourglass marking on its back. It looked like the symbol on the Sand shinobi's headbands.

"Now this nasty little girl is a Desert Black Widow. I think you have a few of her smaller cousins in the Land of Fire. She's just as deadly as the other kind. Just stand still, Hyuga, and don't make any sudden moves. Got to be careful with this girl. She's not just deadly, she's sacred!"

"Sacred?"

"Yeah. Did you think this thing on my headband is just an hourglass? Nope, it comes from this girl here. Now, don't move."

Kankuro held the widow gently and...well to Neji it looked like he was teasing it with a stick. He kept poking at the thing's fangs, forcing it to drip venom onto the stick. Then, after Kankuro was satisfied he dropped the stick into Neji's bottle and gently released the spider back into her tank. The spider, obviously traumatized and feeling violated, crawled under a rock. Neji would swear that the creature was glaring at them with its thousands of beady little eyes.

And so they went down the line, extracting venom from all kinds of spiders, none of which seemed very happy to be there. Neji felt distinctly nervous with all these poisonous things just sitting there glaring at him.

Then it was time for the snakes, which Neji definitely approached with a level of dread. He hated snakes. A lot. Hated spiders too, in fact.

Although it was interesting to watch Kankuro work with them. The man obviously had no fear of the venomous things and made this look easy. It had scared Neji when Kankuro dumped the first snake on the floor and waved his hand in from of it, taunting the thing and daring it to attack him. Which it did. And...Kankuro caught it behind the head. Its mouth was open and it was bearing its fangs at them, and that was so freaking unattractive and horrible to look at! Kankuro held the snake's fangs against the lid of a bottle and let it drip into the glass.

At the last tank Kankuro grinned, and instead of dumping the occupant on the ground he slowly reached into the tank and held out his hand. A hiss, and a snake crawled up Kankuro's arm and slithered around his neck.

"...is that a pet or something?"

Kankuro grinned "Not really. Snakes aren't exactly loyal and cuddly. But I raised this guy since he was a hatchling, so he knows me."

"What is is?"

"King Cobra."

"...a cobra!" Neji squeaked. He heard they were extremely poisonous. "And you are wearing it!?"

"Hey, I can handle this guy. Besides, I've been bit by him more times then I can count." Kankuro said as the cobra slithered down his arm, around his waist and up his back. "I'm mostly immune to his bite about now." the snakes head appeared over Kankuro's shoulder and he started to stoke the cobra, almost absentmindedly. "I mean, he's not like that mutt your sister hangs around with. He's not tame and I would never take him into battle. But he likes my body heat, that's why I am letting him crawl around like this. And his venom is really potent. I get my best stuff from Willy here."

"Willy?"

"Yeah. Willy. Got a problem with that?" Kankuro asked in a challenging tone.

"As long as...Willy stays right there with you I don't care what you call it. Him. Whatever."

Kankuro laughed "Don't worry. I won't let the big bad cobra get you, Hyuga. You'd give him food poisoning or something. Right, Willy?" to Neji's surprised the snake turned its head to Kankuro and flicked out its tongue, as if in agreement.

Kankuro gently grabbed the cobra behind the head and began to milk the creature. He chuckled to himself. He had no intention of telling Neji that the snake was actually more deadly then its wild fellows. The special diet that Kankuro had feed the snake since its birth had done that. In fact, Kankro could not help but think that, if his poisonous blades had actually manged to hit Sasori then it would have been the treacherous puppet master who would have been suffering from a deadly poison.

When he was done milking Willy Kankuro placed the snake back into its tank. He collected up the rest of his poison and put them away. He was not going to show a Leaf nin his techniques of poison mixing. It was not so dangerous for Neji to know about the animals, most medical nins used the same techniques for collecting anti venoms. However, the mixing of poisons was tricky, and Kankuro did not want to show them to a Leaf ninja. True, the Leafs were now their allies. But, ever since he was small Kankuro had been taught that nothing was stable. Perhaps it was the fact that he lived in a desert, were the landscape was ever changing and shifting beneath your feet, but the fact was that even though Gaara was certain that he and Naruto would always be friends, his two siblings were still mentally preparing for the day when Leaf and Sand would clash again. It would happen, of that Kankuro was certain.

He could only hope that it did not happen in his lifetime.

* * *

Gaara almost now could sympathize with his father.

The council was...annoying...

"Lord Kazekage! We cannot allow some blood crazed beast free reign of the city! Especially not with only a Leaf ninja to control it!"

_It. Beast. Blood crazed._ Words once used to describe Gaara. Now they were talking about his brother. It was strange. Almost surreal. Like a dream. No, a nightmare.

Gaara had no idea how everyone now knew that Kankuro was a wolf creature, but somehow the information had spread through Suna like a wildfire. And now, the rumors had started. That Kankuro was in on the attacks, that he had been behind the attacks all along. That he was a victim. Or a tratior. That he had been like this his entire life and only now was it coming to light. That he was going to kill them all. That he was another demon.

"He must be killed, right now! I know he is your-"

Gaara glared at the man. He knew him, of course. This...person was the feudal lord's pet shinobi, and was only on the council for political reasons. He had always demanded the death of Gaara, and now he was calling for Kankuro's.

Gaara interupted him "Who do you think you are talking to?" Gaara glared at the open mouth councilman. "Do you presume that I would be so heartless, so crule as to kill my own brother when we have not even determined the exact nature of his illment? We do not even know if this is a demon at all. I am not going to murder my brother, not while there is still hope to help him."

"But the village!"

"I would never put this village in danger. But I am not going to kill Kankuro. Precautions have already been taken. We know that the transformation only occurs during a full moon. While the moon his full Kankuro will be locked up. But he is perfectly rational the rest of the time. I will not punish him for the crime of being different, and I am not going to give up on him. Rest assured, a solution to this will be found, and he will be cured. You would like to compare this to Shukaku, but this is different. He has not even killed anyone yet. A goat or a sheep is not a human, and there is no indication the he would kill one of the villagers he had sworn to protect." Gaara glared at the entire assembly "While my father may have been willing to throw the lives of his family away, I shall not do the same. Kankuro shall not come to any harm, not as long as I draw breath."

"And if he does kill? What if he does murder someone. What then?"

"He will not." Gaara was certain of this...however, he knew these foolish men would need some kind of reassurance. "However, if we exhaust all our options, if there is no hope, and only if he cannot be controlled or contained...then I will take of it myself."

Everyone knew what he meant by that.

But it would not come to that.

Gaara was certain.

* * *

A few hours later Gaara was at the cell that would be used to house Knakuro at night. It was originally a dungeon that, for some strange reason, the first Kazekage had installed below the offices. It was not used for regular prisoners, in fact it had rarely been used at all. But now, they needed it.

He, Rock Lee, and Naruto had been installing chains onto the floor of the cell they had chosen. Naruto had been sulky about it, but he had done it. They had been testing the chains, making sure that they were as strong as possible.

Gaara felt that they were just about done...when the screaming started.

"Witch! WITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTCH!"

"Huh?" Naruto asked with a puzzled look.

Gaara's eyes widened. "It cannot be..."

"Well well well. Kazekage now, eh? How interesting. I would not have expected it of you, little demon."

Right there, in the doorway, was a large coyote. But, Gaara knew that it was really not an animal at all. Just as he thought that, the coyote seemed to blink out of existence and a woman stood in its place. She was tall, as tall as Naruto. She was wearing very little, only a few strips of tan cloth around her most intimate areas, as well as a scary array of jewelry that looked like it was made of bone. She had dark, tanned skin and almost cruel black eyes. She was smirking at Gaara with an almost gleeful expression.

"So now, what is it like when the tables have turned?" she asked.

"Who is this, Gaara?" Lee asked with puzzlement.

"She is Cassudina. She is a witch."

* * *

An Author's Note: OC is the witch, of course. And OS is the snakie. Original Snake, in fact. Hehe.

Honestly, I don't know where I came up with the name "Willy". It just seemed like the least snakelike thing to call a snake. Anyway, I think it is cute.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Caged

Naruto laughed "A witch? Are you kidding me?"

Rumors of witches in the Land of Wind had been leaking through the borders every since Suna had become a part of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. The rumors said that a Wind Witch could command the storms and weather. That they could see your image and spy on you in mirrors and puddles of clear water (how they found the water in the middle of the desert was anyone's guess). That they took the forms of animals and stole food and belongings and occasionally young children. That they would eat human flesh. And, worst of all, that their power did not come from an internal chakra source like a shinobi's, but from the mouth of the demon Iiferit.

Whenever a foreigner asked about the Wind Witches a native Sunaian would give a different response, depending on who they were. A city dweller would laugh and say that witches were just tribal superstition, and if their eyes would dart from side to side when they said that...well...An Iifernati tribesman would say yes there indeed were witches out there. If you wanted to see one then you were a fool, and why the hell were you asking these kind of stupid questions anyway? When a shinobi was asked...well it depended. Some would just laugh. Some would confirm it. Some would tease. But, no matter who asked, every Sunaian would act just a wee bit nervous when asked about the witches.

Deep down the people did indeed believe in the witches. Many outside the Land of Wind, however, did not belive in witches at all. Which was why Naruto was laughing.

The witch, Cassudina, frowned "Stop that."

Naruto tried to catch his breath, but for some reason just could not.

Gaara, who saw the train wreck coming about a minute beforehand, moved to shut his oblivious friend up. Unfortunately he was to slow. All Cassudina did was snap her fingers, and there where a laughing ninja once stood was a very puzzled, very green, frog.

"Hmmm," Cassudina muttered "Funny. I was going for a wart. He seems naturally inclined to frogs. Interesting that." She grinned. "Ah! Free frog legs tonight!" she leaned forwards to pick Naruto the frog up.

Naruto squeaked out a ribbit and scrambled behind Gaara, cowering and shivering. Gaara picked up the terrified frog and cupped him in one hand, shielding him from the witch.

"Now, ma'am." Gaara said, sounding almost cowed "That is a representative from the Leaf Village you are trying to eat. Please, I would rather you did not cause an international incident."

"Oh, you mean like you, killing everyone that bumps into you." the witch grinned. "I may have promised my sister not to turn your insides into jello pudding, but that does not mean that I obey you, city squatter."

"They why are you here?" Gaara asked.

"Can't a girl see an old friend?"

"I doubt that. You have not been here for years, and you have never once come to see Kankuro, yet here you are."

"Well, let me reiterate, when once of my sister's friends is in trouble, then yes I would come to help." she smirked at Gaara "And seeing as how your shadow mages have no idea how other magic works, then who else is going to come save your skins?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed "How do you know that-"

"That Kankuro is a werewolf? Saw it while I was scrying."

"...werewolf?"

"Idiot city squatter, that is what they are called. Werewolves. Do you know anything?"

"How do you know that?"

"I get around. I'll want to see him tonight. I don't know the specifies of werewolfery, but I will do what I can."

"Why would you do that? You are no friend of Suna. Or any of us." Gaara snarled.

"Unfortunately I still owe your pig of a brother." Cassudina rolled her eyes. "Count yourself lucky that I bothered to let you know I was in this town." she turned to leave.

"Wait...turn Naruto back!" Rock Lee finally picked his jaw up off the floor and spoke up.

"No, he stays that way...I still might want those legs later." the witch grinned and turned back into a coyote. With a mocking yip the coyote speed off.

"...she is...a friend of Kankuro's?" Lee asked in a puzzled voice.

"No. She is the sister of Kankuro's old girlfriend. She, the girlfriend not the witch, was a puppeteer like Kankuro. She trained with him."

"Was?"

"I killed her."

"WHAT!?"

"You know that my father sent assassins after me when I was young? Assia, that was her name, I believe, was one of them. I killed her because she attacked me." Gaara frowned, unhappy at the memory "I...was rather unkind to Kankuro back then, and I am afraid I felt no remorse at her death. I knew that they were dating, but..." Gaara sighed.

"How tragic..." Rock Lee muttered. He knew that Gaara was different now, but he could still remember the mad, monstrous killer that Gaara had been. While he had forgiven Gaara for what he had done, Lee had not forgotten the monster. And poor Kankuro! To have one you loved cut down by your own brother! Especially when that brother was not totally in control of his own actions!

"There is a bit more to it then that, Lee." Temari, who had been coming down to see how the cell was going, had just bumped into the witch. Knowing that Gaara was probably brooding over bad memories about now, she had come to help straightened the situation out. "Gaara, you remember what our father was always telling us?"

"Drunk or sober?"

"Sober, Gaara."

"Hmmm." Gaara rolled his eyes up to the ceiling "Ah. 'Love is weakness. If you love a person they are your weakness. An enemy will take advantage of your love, so it is better to never feel it.'"

"Precisely, and do you remember how Kankuro and Assia acted towards each other?"

"Hmmmm. I did not pay much attention."

"They were very affectionate towards each other. Gaara, it was not your fault, not completely. Our father knew that you would kill Assia easily. It was Kankuro he wanted to hurt. He-" her voice nearly broke. "He didn't want us to be hurt, Gaara, so he tried to make us unfeeling. He thought if we loved no one we would never be hurt. He wanted Kankuro to learn that early, so that he would be taken advantage of at a later date."

Gaara grunted "Sounds like something he would do."

Lee practicality fell backwards in horror "The tragedy! To have young, budding love destroyed so early! For two young lovers to-"

"Woa woa woa, easy there, Mr. Green Beast." Temari said. "They were hardly lovers. They were just thirteen-" Temari winched at Lee's responding wail of sympathy "it was more like a schoolyard crush then anything else."

_But,_ she thought to herself _who knows what might have happened if Father had not butted in. They were so happy together. I can't remember Kankuro ever being that happy again._

Gaara breathed a depressed sigh. Temari gave him a sympathetic look. _It's harder for him. He still is trying to find a way to make this right, somehow. _

But Temari knew that there were some things you could never make right.

At this point Naruto flicked his long tongue out and snagged a fly.

Temari looked at him "Gaara, why are you clutching a frog?"

* * *

Later, at dusk, Kankuro and Neji turned up. Both of them were surprised to see the Naruto-frog.

"Gaara? Why is there a frog in a jug there?"

At some point Gaara had decided that having an amphibian in the desert was a recipe for disaster, and if he wanted his friend to live he had better find some moisture for him. So he had filled a jug full of water and stuck the clearly unhappy Naruto-frog into the jug.

"It's Naruto."

"Huh? Since when is fox boy a frog?"

"Since the witch came to town."

"What witch?"

Gaara's eyes widened and he pointed down the hall "That witch."

Kankuro was even more surprised when Cassudina, in full coyote mode, came slinking down the corridor and rubbed against his leg like a cat.

"Yike!" was his response, in fact. There were few people in the world that intimidated Kankuro. The witch was one of them. It might have had something to do with her habit of turning people into small edible creatures.

With a grin the coyote returned to human form. The witch grinned at the startled shinobi. "Well well well, Crowboy. You certainly have grown...I think I like what I see..."

Kankuro tried to grin, but it was hard. Seeing Cassudina had brought back a nice bundle full of memories. Most of them were good, but they still ended the same way: with the death of a loved one.

"Cassie, you are looking well." he finally managed to accomplish that grin. "How has the cursing been?"

"Oh, just wonderful. I heard you were having trouble with the full moon nowadays?"

"Indeed." Kankuro said. "In fact, I should be getting nice and hairy any moment now."

"Good. I like hairy men."

"So you have mentioned before. But...could you do me a favor?"

"Depends."

"Could you turn the Leaf ninja back into a human?" Kankuro's tone was...actually meek. It was amazing, Neji thought, how Kankuro's attitude had changed from and arrogant self confidant shinobi to someone who held himself like a man tiptoeing around a ticking bomb.

"...but I wanted to eat him."

"Please? For me?" Kankuro asked.

"Oh, if you insist." the witch said "You are lucky, boy, that you made my sister so happy in the time she lived. I would do this for no other, you know!"

She snapped her fingers, and in place of the frog was a very perturbed looking Naruto, a small jug of water sitting on his head. He took one look at the witch and scuttled behind Gaara without a word.

"Huh." Temari muttered "Gotta learn that trick."

"Oh, it is not hard." Cassudina said "You just got to train em right."

"Thank you." Kankuro said, still with an odd grin on his face.

Gaara coughed "The sun is setting. We must do this now."

Kankuro nodded and went to enter the cage. Neji was already waiting for him inside. The Leaf genius was going to test the pressure points in a nice controlled environment. Cassudina, with a frown, grabbed his arm "A wild thing should not be caged, Crowboy."

"Cassie, I could hurt someone."

"All wild things could do that, and only a fool would stand before them."

"You know I have a responsibility to this place, Cassie."

"Then you are more a fool then I thought."

Kankuro nodded in agreement and stepped into the cage. He allowed Gaara and Temari to fasten a set of manacles on his wrists and ankles, though already he could feel something inside of him. Coming to the surface. Fighting. Snarling. Howling. Begging to be set free. He was starting to growl at his siblings.

"Gaara." his voice was becoming more and more guttural. "Hurry. I can feel it."

"Neji. We will let you out when you have determined if the pressure points work." Gaara said as he locked the last shackle. The Hyuga nodded. He was calm and composed. He could handle this.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaraaaaaaaaaaaa." the werewolf snarled as the fur began to sprout. Kankuro's face contorted in pain as the snapping of bones sounds that Gaara was beginning to associated with werewolf transformation echoed through the halls.

Gaara paused at his brother's side and placed his hand on Kankuro's twisting head. "I am here, my brother. We will get through this." Reluctantly, he left the cage. Turning he locked the door, but waited for a bit. He would let Neji out when he had completed the test.

Neji watched as Kankuro's transformation continued. He had not known how bad this was going to be. Kankuro had started to scream again, and hearing those half human, half wolf sounds were just plain horrible to hear.

When the transformation was complete, Neji stared at the large, wolf beast in front of him. He could not decide was was worse. The half human noises, the snapping of bones, or the terrible twisted legs. No, it was none of these. It was the eyes. The eyes that seemed to have all humanity drained from them, replaced by the savagery of the wolf.

The werewolf lifted its head and snarled. It lunged at Neji. Quick as lightning, Neji stepped around the howling figure and thrust a palm towards the back. It was strange blow, almost like a pet, but once it was done the werewolf fell to the ground like a discarded puppet, unable to move. It howled in rage, but could not move.

This lasted for at least half the night. Neji would try a pressure point, Kankuro would go down, or one of his limbs would no longer work or whatever else Neji wanted to happen. It seemed that the pressure points were the same for both humans and werewolves.

Eventually, Gaara let Neji out. A split second later a pair of furry paws gripped the cage and shook the bars. Gaara could hear the chains clanking, his brother howling, and the bars rattling. It was a horrible din.

"Interesting..." Cassudina said, but she was not looking at Kankuro.

She was looking straight at Neji.

* * *

A/N: "Werewolfery" is a term I got from a book called The Complete Book of Werewolves, by a man named Leonard R.N. Ashely. I recommend it for anyone who wants to take a peek at real werewolf legends and folklore, which is much more interesting and varied then what Hollywood is doing these days (I am looking at you: Underworld and Twiblight). Just so we all know that I am not making up words (though he might have made the word up himself...)

Remember, fiction is all well and good, but folklore is just as important. Knowing were you are from is a good thing. Besides, werewolf lore is fascinating. Did you know that there is a rhyme for turning yourself into a werewolf? Did you know that drinking from a wolf's paw print can transform you into a wolf? Did you know that by calling a werewolf's true name you can change him back?

Yeah, it is not true, it is folklore. But it is fascinating. And, if you want a new idea, looking to an old forgotten one is better then making up something like "werewolves and vampires are mortal enemies because I said so, and so let's make a movie based solely on one woman's posterior and try to use this idea to pretend we have a plot." or "Hey! Let's have werewolves fall in love with little children and call it imprinting to try and make it sound less creepy! And pedophilic."

Yeah, I have issues with both Underworld and Twiblight. Live with it.


	13. Chapter 13

An Author's Note: Whatever it is in my brain that generates characters has offically gone into overdrive here (and I mean more then my first one, which had a lot of em). So, for now, let's just make a blanket statement: if you see a name you don't know and can't find the person no matter how much filler you wade through, then assume it is an OC. I don't own any of the rest of these people. I don't even live anywhere close to Japan.

So, enjoy.

Chapter Thirteen

Enter the Cockroach

After Neji's performance Cassudina snorted and exclaimed "Well, that was fun, but now that I have seen how his transformations works, I need to go back to my lair and study up on this. Maybe do a little scrying on it."

"You can't just snap your fingers again?" Lee asked, and had there been a hint of sarcasm in his voice the witch might have turned him into a frog. But, seeing as how this was Rock Lee we are talking about...well the man had not a sarcastic bone in his body.

So, instead of turning him into something green and slimy, Cassudina just gave him a condescending look "No. this is different then my kind of transformations. Mine do not require moon phases, for one. And they are instantaneous, not slow like Kankuro's. It is different, so I have to do a little research. I might have something in my library about it, seeing as how I do not focus on jutsu jutsu and more jutsu."

"When will you return?" Gaara asked.

"When I get back. Don't fret." with that, the witch vanished into thin air.

"...well. She was a very interesting individual." Rock Lee said.

"She was a freak, is what she was! If I never see her again!" Naruto shuddered.

"Don't be too hard on her, Naruto." Temari said. "Witches aren't exactly popular people around here. In fact, they are a lot like you, in many ways. They are born the way they are, and they aren't well accepted." Temari shrugged.

"You mean...does she have a demon?" Naruto asked.

"No, but she does have a power that few people understand or care to. It is different then the power of our chakra, and that makes it strange and frightening to many people, so witches are often shunned.

Gaara blinked. It did not really matter to him what that woman did or did not have to go through. He did not trust her. Sure, she claimed that she had pressing business in her lair, but Gaara was now just about firmly convinced that she was up to something. What that was and whether or not it was a threat to them he did not know. He just knew that the witch gave him the willies. Serious willies. It was an odd feeling. He had never had willies before, and he did not really like them that much at all. They were kind of shivery, and Gaara did not like to shiver. It also did not escape Gaara that the woman seemed mildly interested in the Hyuga's skills. Gaara did not like that one bit.

So the witch left, and while no one actually cried about it, Gaara still felt uneasy that she was no longer where he could watch her. He was not sure if she was up to something or not.

After a while, Kankuro stopped howling and shaking the cage bars, as if he figured out that it was doing no good. Instead he started to gnaw at the bars. Then he would pace around the room like an agitated lion at a zoo. Then, to everyone's surprise, he actually started to chase his tail.

"Is he alright?" Temari asked. She had no idea that, upon gaining a tail Kankuro would actually chase the thing.

"He's probably bored or something." Kiba said mildly "Akamaru does that when he is bored." the dog barked as if to confirm this.

"It can't be fun in that cage." Naruto said sympathetically.

"It's a cage, it's not supposed to fun." Temari growled, even though she did not like the idea of a bored werewolf in a cage. Who knew what he might do if he got out. It was clear that, while he also spent some time tail chasing, he was also trying to get out. The pacing, scratching and gnawing were proof of this.

All of a sudden Kankuro sprang at the bars, shoving against them with his shoulder. Each shove was accompanied by a murderous snarl as he pounded against his prison. To Temari's absolute horror the bars began to bend and buckle under his weight. One of them slipped loose and fell to the floor.

Neji, seeing the disaster about to occur, sprang forwards and struck Kankuro through the bars. Kankuro collapsed with a angry grunt and snapped at Neji. Neji pulled away, but Kankuro's fangs managed to get a hold of his arm, and Kankuro bit down. With a triumphant look the werewolf shook his victim's arm around, flinging Neji from side to side. Growling, Kankuro started to pull himself out of the cage.

Then, fortunately, the sun started to come up.

Kankuro, feeling the change to human beginning, fell backwards with a yip. Neji took this opportunity to get away from the bars.

When the transformation back to human was complete, and just as slow as it had been the last time, Kankuro looked at the injured Leaf nin (who was being attended to by Sakura). He wiped his mouth and stared at the blood. To his disgust he had to stop himself from licking it up. He realized, to his horror, that the bloodlust was still a part of him. Just like the first morning with the rabbit. With a tremendous effort of will he dropped his hand to floor and tried to ignore the blood.

"Well shit..." he muttered.

* * *

It was clear to Gaara that they would need something stronger to hold Kankuro in his wolf form. It was only luck that prevented Kankuro from escaping that night. Gaara knew that he would have to come up with a solution, and quickly. There would be one more full moon tonight, and he was not sure if they should try the cage again, or something else.

As Gaara shifted through papers, looking for something that might help him, he came across something strange. An assignment for a group of a genin to investigate "odd sounds" that had been emanating from the Land of Smoke.

The Land of Smoke had always been an odd place. For one thing, despite the fact that it was called "the Land of Smoke" it had no political or cultural ties with the Shinobi nations. In fact, Land of Smoke was not its real name, but just what the shinobi of Suna called it for lack of something better to call it. It had no ninja or any Hidden Village. The country was large, bordering both the Land of Wind and extending as far north as the Land of Earth. It had remained aloof from shinobi lands for years, and many outside the villages that bordered them did not really know what the people there even looked like.

However, one of the villages bordering the Land of Wind and the Land of Smoke had been complaining recently about the noises coming from the other land. Explosions to be precise. Not liking the idea of a group of unknown and mysterious people launching equally mysterious bombs right outside his back door, Gaara had sent a group to investigate. Now, it was a week later, and they should have been back by now. True, the town was at least three days hard travel away, but even though explosions had been heard Gaara had not really thought that there was an actual threat. Maybe he had been wrong...

He would give them one more day, then he would send someone else to investigate.

A knock, and Baki walked in.

"Gaara, could you tell me why Kankuro is still sitting in that cage?"

"He attacked the Hyuga branch member last night."

"Oh?" Baki seemed only mildly interested in that fact "And this prevents him from doing his duties...how again?"

Gaara frowned, then he realized what Baki was talking about "You mean the academy test today. He was supposed to administer it today."

"Yep. And here it is, only thirty minutes before the start and there Kankuro is sitting in a cage looking" Baki frowned again, as the very word he was going to say was distasteful to him "broody..."

"You think he is fit to do it?"

"Gaara, if he does not then what kind of message does that send to the council? They will say that this thing is preventing him from doing his duty to the village. They might think that you have lost faith in him."

Gaara frowned.

"And it will be good for him as well. He needs to know that the people still trust him."

"Do they, Baki?" Gaara asked.

"Yes, they do. Especially those who have worked with him before. There are a few with their doubts, but most of us trust you. And they trust Kankuro."

Gaara nodded. "If you can pry him out that cage, of course."

Baki snorted. "Hell, I have gotten him out of worse situations...like that time he got himself stuck on that flagpole. Honestly, he should have become a werecat, not a werewolf."

Gaara frowned again "Flagpole..."

"I will tell you the story sometime. It's hilarious." Baki got up to leave. "by the way, do you know what to do with him about tonight?"

Gaara shook his head.

"Well, I have an idea for you." Baki said "The maze."

Gaara eyes lit up "Of course. It is prefect. It's secure. It's has a monitor system. The fact that it is not totally enclosed might alleviate his apparent boredom, and we could even loose some animals in there for him to hunt. That would also help distract him."

Baki nodded, and left to go give Kankuro a good kick in the backside to get him moving.

* * *

Baki found his student right where he had left him, still in the ruined cage, staring at the blood drying on his fingers. Neji, who was still in bodyguard mode despite the fact that he had been attacked, was leaning against a wall with his eyes closed. Baki thought the Hyuga was taking a catnap.

"Kankuro, get up and go to the academy. You have a test to administer."

"Don't be an idiot Baki, they won't let me near those kids."

"Kankuro."

"What?"

"Stop acting like an ass and do your duty."

Kankuro snorted "You can't just let me have my emo moment, now can you?"

"You aren't good with emo. Now get up."

"Okay, okay, you damned old goat."

Kankuro got up, apparently shaking himself out of the funk the had been in. Neji, who had indeed been napping, but had woken up when Baki entered the room, was impressed. He had never seen anyone shake off moroseness that quickly...but then again he had been exposed to Sasuke as a child, and being around him had been proof that when one was upset one should brood for years.

Kankuro left and Neji, still feeling slightly poleaxed by this, followed. Baki left as well, going the other direction.

"So, what is this test?" Neji asked.

Kankuro frowned "You know, you really do not have to be with me all the freaking time. Go take a nap or something. I mean, it's like you think we are married or something."

"I have a job to do, and I will do it."

"Why do the Leaf breed for stubbornness, anyway?" Kankuro groaned.

"Yeah, I am stubborn. Right." Neji said dryly.

Kankuro whirled and snarled in Neji's face. "I am the one who tore up your arm last night, remember?"

Neji folded his arms and stared at Kankuro "You are not going to intimidate me. Give it up."

Kankuro snarled at Neji for a second longer, then backed down with a grunt of "Fine."

Feeling like he had just passed a weird kind of test, Neji reiterated his question "What is this test?"

"It's like what you had to take when you graduated from your academy. Only...well you will see."

The Sand Village's Ninja Academy was a fairly newer building, seeing as how it had been built only a few years ago. It looked to Neji a lot like the rest of Sunaian architecture, sand colored and rounded at the top.

The inside was nice and clean. The rooms were arranged in a circler pattern, perhaps having to do with the fact that the buildign itself was freaking round. In the middle was a large courtyard were a group of students were assembled, along with another teacher.

"Hey Sticks." Kankuro nodded at the man.

"You are late, mate." the man, Sticks, said.

From the start Neji guessed that this man was another puppeteer. His face had face paint similar to Kankuro's, only blue and shaped in a kind of wave pattern. Plus, he had three summoning scrolls on his back, like Kankuro used to carry his puppets. There the similarities ended. This man was tall and thin, slightly emaciated looking (you could tell that this was probably why he was called "Sticks"). Instead of Kankuro's own Bunraku outfit, Sticks looked for all the world like he had stepped out of a pirate story. Pantaloons, dorky bandanna, gold earrings (and other such jewelry) and a freaking parrot! A closer look reveled that the parrot was, in fact, a puppet, but still. The man also smirked a lot, an expression that Neji was starting to associate with Kankuro himself.

Neji always thought Kankuro was strange. This man make Kankuro look positively normal.

"Why is he here?" Sticks looked at Neji with slight distaste.

"Gaara thinks I need a babysitter."

"My my, did you do something stupid again?"

"Oh shut up."

"I am still upset at you over Sasori."

"I know, I know Sticks."

Neji looked from one puppeer to the other, wondering what was going on.

"We had better start this before the children start to fidget out of there shoes." Sticks commented. "Here, have a cudgel."

Kankuro almost groaned when he saw it. He hated this part. Hated when he had had to do it and hated it even worse when he had to do it to others. But, it was nescesaary.

Tossing the stick from one hand to the other, Kankuro aproached the line of children. "You all know what is going to happen here, if I know Sticks he has been shooting his mouth again, am I right?"

"Oh shut up." Sticks said.

"Right. First in line." Kankuro said. A young boy stepped forwards.

"Remember what you have learned, or die." Kankuro said, and with that he swung the cudgel and struck the boy on his right leg. Neji could hear the leg snap from where he was standing. Neji lunged forwards to protect the kid from Kankuro's sudden madness, but Sticks grabbed him.

"Don't ruin the test for them, Leaf." the man said.

"This is the test?" Neji asked, appalled.

"This is not the happy little sylvan glen your kind are raised in, matey. This is the desert. This will save their live one day." Sticks said. "They will find their way to the medical nins, or die in the attempt. If they live, they are worthy. It is something that has been passed down from before even the shinobi. It is a tribal thing, and not something I expect you would understand."

He was right, Neji did not understand. This was horrible! Brutal! He had no idea why it was allowed to continue.

"Just because it is a tradition does not mean it is right!" he hissed at Sticks.

"Boy, you don't have survival training where you are from?"

"Yes." Neji hissed. Although, survival training had been more like "fun camping trips" in the Leaf village. Especially with a classmate like Rock Lee around. Sure they had learned how to survive, but it had been hard to be serious when certain ninja insisted on toasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories around the campfire.

Obviously, this was no camping trip.

"Do not feel to bad. We are badly coddling them. When Baki gave the test to Kankuro he took him outside the city and broke both his legs. Had him drag himself to the hospital with his hands. It was at least five miles. These kids are getting one leg to stand on and the med nins are only a block away." Sticks said with what might have been mild disgust.

Neji would hardly call this coddling, however by the time Sticks had let him go Kankuro had finished breaking legs and the kids had limped out of the courtyard.

"I hate doing that." Kankuro said dryly. He turned to Neji "You are pissed, I can tell."

"I just watched you break children's legs, of course I am pissed!"

"It's just something we do here. Every ninja has had to do it. Hell, even Gaara did it! Granted it was just a hairline fracture...and it was after the chunin exams when he had calmed down a bit. But still he did it."

Neji was still upset at this.

Obviously no longer caring about what the Leaf ninja thought, Sticks turned to Kankuro. "I have something for you, mate."

"What is it?"

"A friend. You still are only working with the Crow, right?"

"Yeah, I haven't gotten the other three up to my standard yet." Kankuro frowned "The...new one is giving me some trouble."

"Well, can't have you running around with just the Crow." Sticks frowned "Apperently you go and turn into a wolf when you do."

"Funny. So you got another of Sasori's for me?"

"No, but you will recognize her. Just wait while I get her."

Sticks left, and Neji frowned. "Sasori?" he asked.

Kankuro winched "Yeah, I got my puppets from Sticks."

"Really? I thought you inherited them from Sasori?"

"Naw, I was not even born when he betrayed us. But, you see, Sticks was Sasori's last student. He kept the puppets. When I became a puppeteer Sticks taught me, and he gave me the puppets."

"Why?"

"Never were his style. Sticks has a...distinctive style in case you didn't notice. All of his puppets are kind of water themed. He only has three: Serpent, Kraken and Ship, but they are massive. Add that to his genjutsu...well let's just say it's very strange fighting him."

Neji nodded. He had noticed that the man was odd. It was, in fact, rather hard to miss. He just looked so out of place in the freaking desert...

"What is up with him?" Neji asked.

Kankuro snorted "You got a year, Hyuga?"

Sticks came back, carrying a scroll. He handed it to Kankuro, who looked at it with shock.

"The Cockroach! Are you serious?"

"She would want you to have it. And it works well with the Crow. The both of you proved that."

"What is it?" Neji asked.

Kankuro sighed "Assia's old puppet." he placed the scroll on the ground and summoned the puppet.

Neji nearly fell backwards when he saw the thing. It was, indeed, shaped like a roach. As big as the Crow, it had six limbs, each tipped with a long sharp scythe blade. Instead of wood it was forged out of some sort of black metal. It had a shield on its back, like a roaches carapace. A flick of Kankuro's wrist, and more blades appeared under the shield, much like a roach's wings. It had a small, oval head, with more blades in the shape of mandibles. All in all it looked like a large metal cockroach.

Kankuro smiled. It was not his normal smirk, but a strange wistful expression. "Hyuga, meet the Cockroach."

* * *

A/N: I made Sticks as my own explanation for how Kankuro inherited the puppets. Plus...for other things. You will see if you keep reading. Plus, I wanted to introduce the Cockroach, my own new puppet. Hope you like her. You will be seeing more of her.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

New Mission

When Gaara told Kankuro about the maze idea the puppeteer was ecstatic.

"It's perfect! Why didn't we think of it before!"

Gaara nodded "It is indeed perfect."

"What is this maze?" Neji asked. "I don't like the idea of following you around in an open area, Kankuro. What if I lose you?"

"It's a training ground. We use it for practice. And you will not have to do anything. The Guardians will be there."

"The who?"

"Not a who, technically a what..." Kankuro said.

"And that, unfortunately, is something we cannot tell you." Gaara said "You can accompany us to the maze, and you can hear the voices of the Guardians if you wish, but you will not be able to see them or learn much of them."

"Why not?"

"Because it is a secret kept only between the Kazekage and the puppeteers." Kankuro said. "Let's just say...the Guardians are protectors, historians and lorekeepers. They only share secrets with the puppet corps." Kankuro had an odd look in his eyes.

Neji did not like it, and was very curious, but he knew about secrets that needed to be kept in a clan. But he could not help but wonder who these Guardians were.

And what did Kankuro mean by "Not a who, a what"?

The entrance to the maze was forbidding, to say the least.

It was right beside the puppeteers' theater, right to the left of it in fact. At first it looked like just another building, until Neji when in and shaw that the "building" was merely a single bare room with a stairway leading down.

Down the stairs, down deep, down until Neji was sure they were miles under the earth, the stairs led to a cavern. In the middle of the cavern was a portal. A huge stone doorway. Although door did not really describe the entrance that well. It was a huge stone slab, shaped like a dragon's maw.

And when they approached, a voice spoke. A rather large, booming one.

_"Who approaches? Speak your names."_

Gaara stepped forwards "I am Gaara of the Desert. The Fifth Kazekage. You know my voice. You know me."

_"We hear. We know. You are worthy. The second?"_

"I am Kankuro of the Swooping Eagles. Brother of the Fifth Kazekage. Puppeteer of the corps. You know me."

_"We hear. We know. The last?"_

Kankuro grinned at Neji "Well? You wanted to come, right?"

Kankuro was speaking the truth. Neji had to see this.

He said "I am Neji Hyuga, of the Leaf Village."

A long silence, then _"Why are you here? You are not Kazekage. You are not of the Corps. Why?"_

"I was curious. I am here to protect Kankuro." the aforementioned puppeteer snorted at this comment from the Leaf ninja.

_"No harm shall come to a puppeteer here. You are not necessary."_

Neji bristled "Who and what are you?"

_"Are you worthy?"_

"I can prove myself,"

"Oh this is going to be interesting." Kankuro muttered.

_"Can you? Name the Cycle."_

Neji frowned "Err...the what now?"

_"Name the Cycle."_

"What Cycle?"

_"If you must ask then you are not worthy."_

Neji sputtered angrily, and was about to argue the point with whoever or whatever was trying to make a fool of him, when Gaara spoke up.

"Neji, we have no more time. We need Kankuro in this maze, now."

Neji wanted to argue with the voices, but then he realized that, once he was rid of Kankuro he could get out of this pit, go back to his fellow Leafs, and not have to worry about werewolves for the rest of the night.

He shut up.

Gaara spoke again "Guardians, are you ready for orders?"

_"Speak."_

"Later this day you were given animals to store. Are they there?"

_"They are."_

"Is there anyone else in the maze."

_"No one."_

"Hear me. From now until the sun comes up tomorrow, my brother is the only one allowed in the maze. When the moon rises he will change into a wolf creature, what we have learned is called a werewolf. Once he is in the maze do not let anyone in. Do not let him out. Let him come to no harm in the maze. Let him run as long as he wishes as a wolf. Only let him out if he is no longer a wolf. Let the animals loose with him for him to hunt. Do you understand the instructions?"

_"Understood. Enter at any time, Kankuro."_

Gaara nodded at his brother. "Good luck."

Kankuro smiled "No problem, bro." He walked towards the dragon's mouth carved in the stone. The thing opened it's mouth to let him in, much to Neji's surprise. With one last little wave, Kankuro entered the maze.

_"There is a story,"_ the voice of the Guardian's said _"Of a man whose wife gave birth to a beast with the head of bull and the body of a man. They left him in a maze and fed him humans as sacrifices. This is much the same. Will you keep Kankuro like this, we wonder?"_

"I hope not." Gaara said.

_"We shall see. Whatever happens, we remember."_

"Let's go."

Neji gave the dragon carved in the stone one last considering look. He almost used the Byakugan, but thought better of it. It was probably not a good idea.

* * *

The maze had been carved in solid rock. There were no lights, no way to see. That was fine. It was part of the training the maze had been built for. And as a wolf Kankuro would not need it. And, since there was a handy cavern ceiling above, and the Guardians to...well guard, then there was no way that he could escape.

For the first time in three days, Kankuro felt secure.

He could feel it happening again. The transformation. It was getting easier to tell when it happened. Now that he was fully aware of what was going on he could actually sit back and analyze what what happening to him. There was pain, oh yes, a bunch of it. Especially in the legs and head, the parts that changed the most. However, there was also something that he had, until right now, ignored. He had ignored it because he had been so busy trying to fight the transformation he had not noticed it. It was bizarre, heady rush of power. Strength flowing into him. Pure, unbridled energy. The werewolf was strong, much stronger then his human form. Kankuro could feel that strength now.

And, despite himself, he liked it.

This was not so bad. Here, safe from people he could hurt, he could sit back. Let this happen. Maybe, even enjoy it. As long as he stayed in this maze he was harmless.

His body became less human, and this time Kankuro did not fight. He let the transformation happen. It was actually quicker that way. Less painful too. And he felt more of the power of it. It was...wonderful.

And then the wolf's mind came to the forefront, and everything changed for him.

It was so much simpler now. So much more manageable. The wolf had no village to worry and fuss about. The wolf did not fret about his brother. The wolf was not consistently thinking of what to do or how to act. The wolf simply was. It simply existed. And it was just so relaxing. Just so easy.

Kankuro let his guard down. He let the wolf be.

And it was so much better then fighting it.

The werewolf sniffed the air. Yes, he could smell it. Prey. It was not totally comfortable in this place, with its walls and ceiling. However, it was better then a cage. And there was food. He could hunt.

He began to follow the scent. Pig. A nice, plump one. It was close. A turned corner, and there it was. It saw him, squealed and ran. Howling with joy the werewolf gave chase, falling on all fours and running it down. With a mighty leap the werewolf broke the pigs back. Snarling, he sank his teeth in the pig's throat and twisted, tearing it out. It was swift, the animal was dead before it hit the ground.

Greedily the werewolf began to feed, swallowing bit mouthfuls of flesh and lapping up the blood.

It was good.

He was happy. More then happy. Fulfilled. This was what he was meant to do.

This was right.

* * *

When the sun rose the good feelings in Kankuro had not diminished. In fact he felt even better in the morning. It was like the way he felt that first morning in the cave. He had a theory that it must have something to do with the werewolf transformation. It must give you extra engery after the transformation. Well, why not? It would have to, if one was going to stay up all night as a wolf then one probably needed the energy boost to function the next day. It made sense in his mind.

Gaara and Neji were waiting for him when he emerged from the building.

"How did it go?" Gaara asked.

Kankuro grinned "Great, no problem. Hey, anyone want bacon? I think I might have left a rib or two back there."

Gaara frowned "I think not."

"Suit yourself bro."

Gaara studied him. Kankuro did look better then he had these past few days, but that could be because he no longer had to worry about hurting a civilian. Gaara knew how much his duty to the village meant to Kankuro, and he knew that it would kill Kankuro if they ever came to harm because of him. This must have been a load off of his mind.

"You are feeling well then?" Gaara asked.

"Yep, never better."

"Good, I have to talk to you about something. Do you remember the report concerning the disturbance coming from the Land of Smoke?"

Kankuro nodded. "Yeah."

"The team sent in to investigate has not returned. I want you to lead Kiba's team there and investigate."

Kankuro nodded, following his brother's logic. The Leafs were basically ordered by the Hokage to follow whatever orders Gaara gave them while in Suna, and since the Sand ninja were stretched so thin it made sense to send a Leaf team. Kiba's group had a tracker (Kiba), Hinata's Byakugan ability, and a bug master that could use those creepy crawlies to send messages and scout. Kznkuro knew why Gaara would want to send him, instead of Temari or another Sand ninja. The Land of Smoke was at the western border. It was further away from the Sand Village then Konoha was. It took a day and a half to get out of the desert going to the Land of Fire, and it was through territory littered with nice lush oasis. The western lands were a had less rest stops, and it took at least four days to reach the closest body of water. It was a hard journey, and a lot could go wrong. Kankuro, however, had been to the western lands plenty of times, and knew them well. Kankuro also had the distinct advantage of knowing more about the various tribes then either of his siblings. The tribes were nomadic, but they did have territories they preferred over others. The western lands were mostly home to the Bloodied Dragons (an ally of the Swooping Eagles), the Sand Cats (a neutral party to his tribe), the Serpent's Teeth (who were nasty, but could be reasoned with) and his own tribe the Swooping Eagles. Kankuro knew the traditions and ways of his tribe, and could deal with such matters better then Temari or Gaara.

"He is comign as well, just in case?" Kankuro nodded at Neji. It was the only reason he could think of why the Hyuga was here.

"Indeed." Gaara said.

"I take it you took care of everything, right?" Kankuro said, looking up at the sky "If we are going I would rather we go now. Make some miles before noon."

"Everything is taken care of." Gaara knew about long trips through the desert, and had arranged everything beforehand."

"Alright. Let me go get my puppets, maybe take a quick shower, and I'll meet the Leafs outside the western gate."

Of course, Kiba was the first to make an objection.

"Wait! There are five people here! I thought teams should only be four people!" He shouted.

"Sand ninja don't limit ourselves to numbers." Kankuro replied. "We send as many as necessary to get the job done. He is coming in case I go wolf on you and try to eat your entrails...unless you are volunteering yours?"

Kiba thought. "Okay, I see your point. So, what's the plan?" Although he still hated the wolf stench coming of Kankuro in literal waves, he understood the concept of the team leader, and he would follow the team leader.

"First, listen up. This is not going to be like your other trips in the desert. We are heading into some really tough territory. Here, everyone take these water skins here." Kankuro began to pass out the water skins that a jonin was holding for them. "You drink when I tell you to, no more or less. We have to keep an eye on this, because there is not going to be any water holes or oasis or anything else for four days. When you run out of this it is gone. It only takes three days for a person to die of dehydration. We have none of those military ration pill things here. Never really developed the technology, so we are taking some food with us as well. Not so bad if we run out of that, because we can hunt on the way there. Hope you like fried lizards, because it might come to that. Also, if we run into any tribesman, and I mean any tribesman, you do not talk. I talk, and you try to look non threating. Especially you Hyugas. There is nothing a tribesman hates more then an uppity city squatter. And, yeah, I may be one as well, but I least know what'll piss em off and what won't. We are going to be traveling at dawn and at dusk, and resting during the noon and the evening. It's to hot to travel during the heat of the day and too cold in the dead of night. Keep yourselves covered at all times. I don't care how uncomfortable you are you will be even worse off if you get sunburn out there. Do not touch the wildlife. Any wildlife, especially you two, dog boy and bug boy. There are more poisonous things out there then you can count, and I don't want you to pick up something and get stung or bitten. I can't exactly carry my anti venom cabinet through the desert with us. If you feel bad, if you are struggling or you feel sick or weak or poor, tell me. Don't be proud or try to prove yourselves or something retarded like that. I don't want to come back and tell Naruto that I got his buddies killed." he stared at each Leaf ninja in the eye "The most dangerous things we will be facing out there will not be whatever it is the Land of Smoke, it will be the elements of the desert. Do you understand me?"

Nods all around.

"Alright, if you don't feel up to this then this is the time to go.

No one moved.

"Alright then." Kankuro took a deep breath. "Let's go."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Desert Travel

At first it was not that bad. Yeah, it was hot and sandy, but Suna was always hot and sandy. By now the Leafs had gotten used to hot and sandy. And, since the sun was not that high, the first few miles of the journey were actually rather pleasant. Kankuro set a steady pace, slower then how the Leafs normally traveled. When asked about this Kankuro claimed it was because he didn't want to exhaust the group. At first no one had known what he meant.

Then it later, and hotter, and the Leafs soon realized exactly how easy it had been in the actual city. In the village there was shade and cool water. Out here they were directly exposed to the sun, which was merciless as soon as it got high enough.

It was hard to say who was suffering more: Akamaru with his shaggy coat, Hinata and Neji with there sensitive eyes, or Kiba who was also rather shaggy. It was easy to see who had it the best: Kankuro who was used to this, and Shino who was actually not only well covered, but also had his face covering to protect against the blowing sand. It got into everyone else's eyes and mouth, but Shino was having no problems with it.

Finally, Kankuro called a halt. Everyone collapsed on the sand with a sigh that was basically unanimous.

"God, you Leafs are wimps." Kankuro said with a grin. "Come on, you guys. Who wants some nice shade?" Digging into the pack that he had loaded onto Akamaru ("The mutt might as well make himself useful!" he had said), Kankuro pulled out a scroll and summoned a rather large tent big enough to fit them all.

"What, for all of us?" Hinata asked, going red.

Kankuro nodded. "Saves space. Only one scroll as opposed to several."

Hinata groaned to herself. Great, in a tent with a bunch of males...but then again she doubted anyone a group that included her cousin and her teammates were going to try anything. She was not worried about Kankuro, he was not Naruto, and he had never looked at her twice. Come to think of it neither did Naruto, but whatever. She gratefully crawled into the tent with the rest of them.

"Alright, we'll have some lunch, maybe take a quick rest and be on our way. Kiba, please tell your dog to shed somewhere on the other side of the tent."

"Come here, Akamaru, want some of this jerky boy?" Kiba said as his dog snuggled up to his side with a grateful grunt.

Kankuro finished handing out the food. He seemed perfecty content to just sit around.

After a few minutes of cheweing and swallowing, something occurred to Hinata "Kankuro, you mentioned we might meet tribesman out here?"

Kankuro nodded.

"Is one of them your...ours?" she asked.

Kiba stared at her. Yeah, they had been told that her relatives were members of a tribe out here, but since when did Hinata start to identify herself as one of them. It made no sense to Kiba. She was a Leaf, not an Iiferwhatever.

Neji, meanwhile, was looking at his cousin like she had been out in the sun to long "Our? What are you talking about, Hinata?"

Kankuro, who loved telling stories, immediately launched into the story. Kiba, who had heard all of this before, tuned it out. It wasn't his family after all.

Neji, on the other hand, was stunned "Wait...you mean...I am related to YOU!"

Kankuro glared "You don't have to sound so pissed about it. And, it is just by marriage, you and I don't share blood. Now, you do share blood with my cousin Maro, but that is it. Toshi's great-granddaughter is my aunt."

Neji thought for a second "I thought you uncle was dead?"

"My Uncle Yashamaru, the guy that raised Gaara" Kankuro frowned in disgust at the man's name, he hated Yashamaru every since he had learned what he had done to his little brother "is dead. This is my Uncle Jhimey. He's my father's younger brother. Yashamaru was my mother's brother."

Neji was not sure what to think about this. Sure, he had heard Toshi's story, but it had always been used as a weapon against him. In fact, according to the Hyugas Toshi was killed and eaten by cannibals in the desert. Obviously he had been lied to, unless Kankuro himslef was lying. He doubted that the Sand ninja was lying, though. He had no real reason to, while the Hyugas probably were lying, most likely to get him to stop trying to fight with the main branch. Either that, or Toshi might have faked the death. Neji did not know, but now he really wanted to meet these distant cousins of his.

"What are the chances of us meeting them?" Neji repeated Hinata's question.

"This area is mainly controlled by four tribes, and the Swooping Eagles are the biggest in the area. But you have to remember that they are nomadic, so I have no idea were they might be right now. We might run into them, but it is a big desert out here, so I will not hold my breath."

"These tribes, can you tell us what to expect from them?" Shino asked. He wanted to be prepared.

"Well, we won't have any trouble if we meet the Swooping Eagles. I'm a member of the tribe, after all, and they would never attack one of their own. The Bloodied Dragons will be fine with us as well, they are allies to the Swooping Eagles. Have been for a while now. The Sand Cats won't bother us as long as we do not bother them. The last tribe in this area are the Serpent's Teeth. Last time I checked they were not actively hostile to us, but they can be real bastards if they want to be. I don't think they will bother us, but you never know with one of them."

"What is up with these names, anyway?" Kiba asked moodily "Eagles and snakes and cats and dragons? Why all the animal names?"

Kankuro shifted uncomfortably "Tribal gods."

"What?" Neji was not sure he had heard correctly.

"Each tribe has a tribal god that protects each tribe. The Swooping Eagles are allied with Hertok-rah, the Sun Eagle. Same with the other tribes. The Sand Cats worship Been-ree, the cat goddess, so on and so forth."

"You don't worship you ancestors, like we do?" Hinata asked.

"Some in the cities with strong foreigner blood do, but most Iifernati follow the old ways." Kankuro replied.

"Oh." Hinata said. She had never realized how different Suna really was from Konoha. It was actually very different, even though the shinobi often acted similar to the other shinobi. It was odd, a strange mixture of culture that could only come from a place that had absorbed different groups of exiles into its borders.

They ate in silence after that.

* * *

Trouble came upon them after they had broken camp.

None of the Leafs heard or saw anything, but suddenly Kankuro had tensed up and looked towards the west. He told them to stop just as the Leafs noticed the riders. It was as if they had materialized from the sands. None of the Leafs had any warning save for what Kankuro had provided.

"Who-" Hinata asked, and Kankuro shushed her.

"Trouble. Grinning Jackals. Not good." He said grimly.

There were three of them. All were dressed in simialr robes and head wrappings similar to the uniform worn by Suna jonin, only without the jackets. Their faces were covered. They had long swords similar to the one that Kankuro had in his weapon scroll. They were riddign small quick looking horses. All three fo them were giving Kankuro evil looks.

"Well well, look what we have here. A bunch of city squatters out for a little stroll in the desert." one of them said with a mocking tone.

Kankuro sneered "And what are Grinning Jackals doing so far north? Lost your way? Need some directions?" If it were any other tribe then Kankuro would have at least tried to be more respectful, but this was not Grinning Jackal territory. As the nephew of the Swooping Eagle headman Kankuro knew that he had more of a right to be here then they did. Plus, he could spot hustlers from a mile away, and these Jackals were looking to bully someone.

Unfortunately he could not just kill them, or even fight them. Territory or no, he was still a ninja and they were still warriors. It was...not a politically wise move for ninja to fight with warriors. It was, in fact, a very bad idea. He hoped that if he could prove to these men that he would not be bullied they would back away.

"Hey, I know this city squatter! You're the demon spawn's little ass wiper, aren't you!?" another pointed at Kankuro, who summoned up all of his self control. He could not kill them, much as he wanted to show this little twit a thing or two. "What are you doing out here with us real men, instead of huddling in your little city changing your little brother's diapers?" the man continued.

"Ninja business. Not something a trio of carrion eating mongrels would know about. You might accidentally scent a butterfly and go skipping off to chase it." Kankuro said.

"You better watch your mouth in front of your betters, ass wiper." the Jackal said. The three's hands were edging towards their blades. "You don't want to go this direction, if you know what is good for you."

Kankuro could tell that this was going to get ugly, and fast. He could feel the wolf's instincts inside of him. Raging and roaring to get out and hurt this fool. Hurt him and make him beg Kankuro for forgiveness. With a roar, Kankuro grabbed something out of the pack on Akamaru's back and threw it at the group of hostile tribesman. Thankfully the leader had good reflexes and caught the thing.

It was a bag of their food supplies.

Kankuro grinned and said something in a language none of the Leafs understood. The tribesman barked something back at him angrily, then as a group they wheeled around and galloped off.

After a few moments, Kiba spoke up "What just happened?"

Kankuro grinned "When you give someone the gift of food or water in the desert, that person can not hurt you after receiving it. If you attack someone who gives such a gift then you are cursed." Kankuro shrugged "I could not think of anything else to do."

"Please don't tell me that was the rest of our food." Neji said.

"No, it was about half." Neji groaned when he heard Kankuro say that "But, hey, now you guys can try those fried lizards!

"Oh...joy." Neji said.

"Why did we not sense their approach?" asked Hinata, who was scared by this question. She had never been able to sneaked up on before, and she didn't like it.

"Let's start moving, and I will tell you." Kankuro started to walk.

"Has Naruto told you about the stone of Gelel incident?" as it turned out the Leafs had heard of the incident. "Do you know why it was Suna they attacked? It is because, a long time ago, that civilization was centered here, in the Land of Wind. Before we had ninja there were two groups in this land, the Iifernati tribesman and the Gelels, as we called them. They didn't get along. The Gelels thought of us as less then humans, and we thought them demons. We fought, but the stones gave them powers similar to that of the shinobi. They could overpower us. But, eventually, the tribes learned that the stones of Gelel could not only enhance ones powers, but they could also detect the chakra inside a person. The tribes began to use small shards of the stones, not for power, but to detect the chakra capabilities of a person. Those without any hint of chakra power, those who the shards did not glow around, became the weapon our people used against the Gelels. The Gelel civilization collapsed, and our leaders forbade us to use the stones left for anything more then chakra detection. It is forbidden, because it is believed that the power of the stones corrupt and bring out the evil inside a man. Of course the stones are gone now, but the Iifernati still have people who are basically void of chakra. That is why you can't detect an Iifernati warrior until he is right in front of you."

"But, since the stones are gone won't these special warriors die out.?" Neji asked.

"Eventually. But there are still a bunch of them around." Knakuor said "But that is not what worries me. The Grinning Jackals are not supposed to be in this area. They live along the coast to the south. Why are they this far north?"

No one had the answer to that.

Later that evening, as the sun was going down Kankuro stopped.

"Neji, I just had a thought." he said.

"What?"

"What if I am not over the transformation?'

"Isn't it linked to the lunar phase?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah...but...I feel...I..." Kankuro was starting to clutch at his stomach. "This...this..."

"Oh shit." Kiba said. Akamaru growled at Kankuro.

As the moon rose Kankuro's nails began to lengthen into claws...

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I did wonder why those people were attacking Suna in the first place. Was it just because it was the closest strip of land or was there another reason. I think about these things. Mabye to much.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Destruction

Kankuro doubled over as the transformation began to overtake his body. Neji went into the Gentle Fist stance, wary and waiting for Kankuro to finish turning into the wolf. He knew that he would have to take the other ninja down fast. There was nothing here to restrain Kankuro with, and if he ran off into the desert then the Leafs would be stranded. No way to find their way back and no way to guide themselves.

But then, Kankuro stopped. The nails stopped growing and he stopped hissing in pain.

"Huh, weird. It's over." he said.

"What?" Neji could not believe it.

"It's finished, I don't feel myself transforming anymore." he sounded odd, his voice had changed. It was gruffer, and had a muffled quality to it.

Kankuro turned around, and Neji saw why his voice was different. The transformation was not completely to wolf, but Kankuro had changed. His ears and grown sharp and pointed as were his teeth. He had long pointed fangs. And, of course, his hands had grown claws. Other then that, he was still Kankuro. His eyes were even the same. Brown and human looking.

Shino chuckled softly "You look almost like Kiba." he said.

"Hey! I am not that ugly!" Kiba said.

"My line, dog breath." Kankuro grinned, and Neji got to see that, indeed, all of his teeth were now pointed, not just the front fangs.

"It must be because the moon is waning." Hinata said thoughtfully "It's not completely full, but there is still quite a bit of it up there. It's power over you is lessened, but there is still enough to partially transform you."

"Yes," Kankuro was studying his long claws. "That must be it." he took an experimental sniff, and his eyes lit up. "Hold that thought."

Still sniffing, Kankuro dropped into a crouch and sniffed the ground. Eerily reminded of himself, Kiba took his own sniff to see if he could detect what Kankuro was smelling. Hmmmm, sand, sand, various critters, cacti-

With a snarl Kankuro pounced, and something squealed. With a flick his clawed hand lashed out and snagged a squirming rodent by the tail. The Leafs just got enough time to see that it had long back legs and was about the size of mouse, before Kankuro popped it into his mouth and crunched.

"Well...that was pleasant." Neji said mildly.

Kankuro swallowed, then looked puzzled "Huh...taste better cooked."

"Oh, please tell me you are not serious." Kiba said, sounding disgusted. Man, this werewolf thing was worse then his dog thing! Sure he acted like a canine on many occasions, but he had never swallowed mice raw!

"No, I am." the puzzled looking Sand ninja said. "I shouldn't have done that...should I?"

"Not in polite society, no." Shino said.

"Oh well, I was never fit for that, anyway." Kankuro shrugged. "Sorry I didn't leave you any."

"Trust me, that is perfectly fine." Neji said.

"Yeah, but we'll need to catch you guys something. I want to save what little food there is left in the bags for emergences." Kankuro said.

"Just please don't use your teeth next time." Neji asked. Yes, Kankuro sounded rational, but his actions were still wild and feral. Worse then Neji had ever seen. It made the Hyuga nervousness and edgy, and the one thing you would never want around you is an edgy Neji. "I would rather not have your drool all over my food."

Kankuro's grin was positively feral. The fact that there was a mouse bone stuck in his fangs, and that his teeth were stained pink with blood, added to the impression that Kankuro was not quite totally sane. Not anymore.

* * *

The next two days passed by without incident. Kankuro was serious about catching their meals, and the Leafs soon learned that Kankuro was not joking about those fried lizards. Lizard was, in fact, the primary catch. Thankfully, he did not use his teeth for this, but a long sling for throwing rocks. He could not use his kunai, seeing as how all of his were smeared with poison. Turns out he was good at tossing rocks with bits of rope. Kankuro only caught a certain species of mild, lazy looking green ones about as long as a human forearm. They were nonvenomous, plentiful and relatively easy to catch, which pretty much made them a staple diet of the Suna desert traveler. There was always a bit of a contest to see who could snag the tail, for the tail of this lizard was the best part. It had only one bone, and was usually quite fatty. The rest of the lizard was bony, and required a bit of picking to get to the meat.

Occasionally Kankuro would take down a bird, or a rabbit, or on one memorable afternoon, a long king snake. With the exception of the king snake all were welcome changes from the lizards, which had an odd taste that the Leafs simply were not used to.

Not that the food was bad, and not that anyone was complaining. It was food, and the Leafs were beginning to understand how harsh the desert really was. It was an unforgiving place, a land were literally one mistake could mean death. The Leafs were not fools, despite what Kankuro teased.

_It is no wonder the Sand ninja call us weaker then they_ Hinata thought as they got to the top of yet another freaking sand dune. _Compared to this place the Land of Fire is indeed a paradise. I can __also see why they are so hard on their own ninja. Weakness here means death. I suppose, in a way, being hard on them spares them from harm out here._ She had always thought that the Sand ninja acted the way they did through sheer meanness. It had certainly seemed that way during the long ago Chunin exams. But it seemed like if one was not a bit hard out here then one would probably not survive long.

Thinking of the exams made her think of a question.

"Kankuro?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"When you attacked our village back then...is it because you wanted to find a different home for you people? Somewhere not so-"

"Extreme?" Kankuro's voice was filled with amusement. "You think we want to live like Leafs? Hardly, Hinata. You think this place is horrible? It is not, it's our home."

"But-"

"Neither I, nor any true Sunaian, would choose to live anywhere but here. Yes, it is easier in the Land of Fire, but it's too wet. It's too crowded. The trees press in on you. You can't see the sky or the sun. And did I mention the wet? It feels like you are drowning in air."

"Then why did you attack us?" Shino asked flatly. He, like most Leaf villagers, and thought the conflict had been about land. Was Kankuro saying that the Sand had attacked on a whim?

"Our Daimyo, that is why." Kankuro snarled "We never needed a damn feudal lord, but some damned city squatters in Kairuio, are capital, decided that since we were going to have a Kazekage and a Hidden Village we needed a feudal lord. They're mostly the decedents of the other land's exiles there, and they think that they are better then those of us with Iifernati blood. Of course, the lower classes are usually part Iifernati more often then not, but the damn upper class are a bunch of what they call purebloods. Anyway, they Daimyo keeps shuffling off assignments to your village, not ours. We were losing a lot of money at the time, and they kept cutting into our budget. We could barely keep half the damn village up with all the damn debt. That is why we attacked. If we could break you then it would prove that we were the stronger, and customers would come straight to us. No, it was Sound that wanted your land. We could not have cared less."

"What changed?" Neji asked.

"Gaara. He's done so much. Accomplished so much. He was like a one man wreaking crew. He helped put us back on the map. That's why he is Kazekage. The council my whine about the demon, but everyone knows that Gaara did more for our village after that debacle then anyone else, and they remember it." Kankuro shook his head. "Never should have gotten a Daimyo. We should have done it the Iifernati way. They wanted to use the Tribal Council. Have the tribes decide what is best for the people." Kankuro snorted. "Politics sucks, right?"

As the Leafs pondered this information, Kankuro's mind wandered. Leave the Sand! As if! The Leafs thought that they were the only people with loyalty to their country! Not true. The Land of Fire may have their Will of Fire, but the Wind had something as well. It was running through his mind now.

_I am the Wind, life and death. To my enemies I am the blade that cuts. If I cannot cut I shall break. What I do not break I shall bend. What I cannot bend I shall erode with time. _

_To my people I am the defender. I give life. I give voice, I give song. I give hope. I carry the voice of the child to the mother, and the mother to the child. I am the voice of the master to the student, and give them wisdom. The eagle sings my praises in the day, and the owl at night. I am the mother of the Gods._

_Fire shall not consume me. Water shall not quench me. Earth shall not open up and swallow me. Lightning shall not master me. I shall endure._

_I am the Spirit of Wind._

_In your suffering I shall make you strong. _

_You will endure._

* * *

By the third morning the sand dunes had given way to large rocky mesas and canyons. Now they traveled more like the Leafs would do in the trees, only instead of from branch to branch they would jump from rock to rock. It was just as hot here, but not as sandy.

Another day passed. Finally, panting and tired, they made it to water.

"Everyone, meet the Tatua River." Kankuro said.

The Leafs started to run to the water, but Kankuro bellowed at them.

"HOOOLD IT! Are you stupid!" he practically shrieked. "Don't you see the vs?"

"The what?" Neji asked.

"The little v waves in the water. Oh, just watch!" Kankuro wiped out one of his summoning scrolls and summoned the Cockroach. With a flourish he jerked his hand upwards and the Cockroach launched into the air, fluttering the blades on its back like a true cockroaches wings.

As soon as the Cockroach reached the water a huge crocodile leaped from the river and snapped at what it thought was a tasty treat. The blades on the Cockroach's arms cut at the beast's eyes. The croc decided that this was probably not a good meal and let go, sliding back into the water.

"Oh..." Kiba muttered "So is there anything in this freaking desert that is not out to kill us?"

"Pretty sure the rabbits don't have designs on your life." Kankuro said with a smirk. "Now, how about this? Neji and Hinata watch the water, while the rest of us try to fill our water skins with as much as we can get. I'll keep the Cockroach out in case they miss any."

With a lot more caution they filled up the water skins, and Akamaru even managed to lap a bit of the water, which made the shaggy hound very happy. When they were done with that a chakra powered leap across the water got them safely across.

Across the river was like a completely different world. Instead of sand or rock the Leafs found themselves in a flat grassy plain. Birds chirped, grasshoppers hopped and a little bunny bounced as far away from them as it could bounce. A butterfly fluttered in front of Akamaru's nose and then went on its merry way. It was a bit like the Land of Fire, except instead of being surrounded by trees the land was still open and wide, the only landmarks being the distant mountains towards the north.

"It's the only fertile land in Suna." Kankuro said. "There is another river, the Tiegran, a few miles from us. The town we are looking for is called Xerxus, and it's on the Sunaian bank of the Tiegran. The other side of the river belongs to the Land of Smoke."

Everyone knew what that meant.

Trouble soon.

* * *

By the time they saw the village, they knew there was something wrong. The place was completely and utterly destroyed. There was not a single building standing. Rocks and plaster littered the street.

What was worse was the bodies. It looked like something had come here and ripped them apart. They were not just dead, they were completely dismembered. What was worse as that it seemed like the dead were all Sunaian.

"Kiba, what do you smell?" Kankuro asked.

"Huh, it is odd. I kind of smell...fireworks." Kiba was sniffing around a pile of rubble, Akamaru by his side.

"Fireworks?"

"Yeah, smells like the stuff that makes fireworks go up and explode. It is different from what makes say an exploding tag explode, that is just chakra. This is something else. Something acrid. I don't like it at all."

While Kiba had been sniffing for clues, Shino had sent his bugs out to scout ahead. Now a few of them returned and buzzed about his head.

"Kankuro, they found a group of strange looking people in that direction. They don't look like ninja or civilians." Shino said mildly.

"We should check." Neji nodded at his cousin, and they both activated the Byakugan. The two of them looking in the direction Shino had indicated.

"Hmmm, they do look odd." Neji said. "Green jackets. Really fancy looking. Don't look like anything I would go out in the desert dressed in. they have some odd weapons. They look like metal tubes of some sort. Can't tell what they are supposed to do. It does not look like they could brain us with them. Odd. I don't like it at all."

Kankuro grinned. "Well then, why don't we let them give us a little demonstration?" he summoned his puppets "I'll attack them with my friends here, and we will see what their toys are capable of. Then, when we have their measure we will take them down and find out what they did here."

The rubble made good cover. Within moments the ninja had situated themselves onto various lookout points. They were ready to see the show. There were five men in the middle of the town square, all wearing green coats and dragging bodies through the streets and rummaging through pockets and other such belonging to the dead villagers for valuables.

It made the Leaf nins sick to see it, and it obviously infuriated Kankuro. There would be little or no mercy from him, and the only reason any of the intruders might live was the fact that Kankuro wanted to know what was going on here. In which case the theoretical prisoner might prefer to be dead. Knakuro looked ready to hurt something badly.

What looked like a clone of Kankuro ran towards the invaders, bellowing in that same strange language that the Leaf nin could not understand. The invaders turned with a shout towards what the Leafs knew was one of Kankuro's puppets. One of the invaders slung his metal tube to his shoulder and squeezed a small trigger at the bottom. The thing seemed to spit fire, a continuous stream of smoke and sound that made Akamaru and Kiba whine a bit at the sound. It struck the puppet and sent it falling to the ground.

"Wow, what kind of weapon is that?" Neji muttered. They had divided into pairs. He with Kankuro, Hinata with Shino and Kiba with his dog. Kiba figured Akamaru as the extra member of the team, not just a ninja tool.

"Hmmm, its almost like a gun." Kankuro said. "The land of Smoke uses guns a lot, probably because they don't have chakra, but this is the first I have seen that spits out ammo that fast." the puppet master jerked his hands forwards. Sand fell away and the Crow revealed its true nature. It chattered insanely and zipped towards the invaders, opening its mouth and spitting blades. Another jerk of Kankuro's hands, and the Cockroach appeared at the other end of the square, blades whirring as it jumped into the middle of the invaders. They stood back to back and shot at their attackers, but the Cockroach was to well armored, and the Crow far to nimble.

Kankuro was not sure what had happened next. He did not think the Smoke soldiers would commit suicide (but who know how these strangers thought). Maybe the thing had just malfunctioned. But, one of the soldiers had pulled out a small, round metal object a pulled a pin at the top. As soon as the pin was pulled the thing exploded, and the entire invading rear guard was blown up. Bits of human splattered against the Crow and the Cockroach.

A long silence followed, and eventually the ninja crept out of their hiding places to check out what had happened.

"Well." Kankuro muttered "Now we can't question them. Damn it."

"Hmmm, is this what a gun looks like, Kankuro?" Neji asked as he picked up one of the discarded weapons of the enemy. "I've never seen one of them before."

"Looks similar." Kankuro said as he took the weapon. "A rifle or a shotgun or something like that. Only the Land of Smoke uses them, to my knowledge. But they are not supposed to shot as fast as these did." Kankuro frowned. "This is bad. We have to get this to the puppet corp. they know a lot about how mechanical things work." _And if they don't then the Guardians will know. They are the reason we have things like refrigerators and microwaves, after all..._ Kankuro had no idea where the Guardians had gotten their vast knowledge of mechanical things, but for some reason every few years the Guardians would show a puppeteer a new machine. How it worked, and what it was supposed to do. No one knew why they did it, but that was the reason that Suna had things like the air conditioners, and why Konoha had computers.

Shino tensed, his bugs buzzing angrily. "company." he said.

The sound of horses hooves, and just like before, a group of Iifernati warriors burst upon them.

They were surrounded.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

The Swooping Eagles

The Leafs stood back to back, hands and various weapons bared and ready to fight these tribesman that had surrounded them.

However, Kankuro did not even flinch, instead he grinned and said something in that odd Iifernati language at one of the riders. Then, he switched to the common language. "Reem, how have you been?"

"Kankuro!" the man, Reem, lowered the cloth concealing his face and grinned. "Just the ninja I was hopeing to see! Stand still, don't you try to squirm!" with that the man slid of his horseand did something that most of the Leafs had never thought possible. He hugged Kankuro. Not that the ninja was happy about it. You could see the the moment the man made contact with Kankuro that he was uncomfortable. His back was tense and ramrod straight, and his hands clenched into fists. Reem did not do it for long, though, and you could tell that Kankuro was glad of this.

Reem then turned his eyes to the Leafs. Now, they managed to get a good look at him. He was tall and slender, and seemed to lean towards the dark side. Dark brown skin and hair, and black eyes. He was grinning, though, and he had a pretty friendly grin.

"Okay, I know that is not your symbol there," the warrior pointed at Neji's Leaf Village headband. "In fact, if I did not know better I would say they look suspiciously like Land of Fire city squatters."

"They are. But they are friendly with us now." Kankuro said. "They came to help us."

"Treaty holds then?"

"It does."

"Good, means I don't have to kill them."

What was bad, was that Reem did not look like he was joking.

"Do you know what happened here?" Kankuro asked.

Reem's eyes darted to the Leafs, as if he did not want to say to much in front of them. Then, he shrugged.

"We saw some of it. Our hunters were in the area when they heard the explosions. We came to investigate." Reem pointed at the strange weapon that Kankuro was still holding "You saw their new rifles in action, yes? They were everywhere, all using those weapons. They didn't kill everyone though, they loaded up a bunch of them in trucks and took them to the Land of Smoke."

"And you did nothing?" Neji growled.

Reem glared at him. "We tried. We got two of you ninjas out, as well as a small group of city squatters. The third ninja boy is dead, I am sorry to say, he tried to hold them off," Reem shook his head. "These new weapons are a lot more effective then their old ones. I mean, those six shooting pistols are bad, but these...it is like they don't have to stop and reload at all! He took out a few, but these things cut him to pieces."

"What happened to the rest of the survivors?" Hinata asked.

"We sent a runner with them back to your village. We hope to tell htem about what is going on here. That is not all, Kankuro. You didn't happen to run into any Grinning Jackals on your way here?" Reem asked.

"We did, actually." Kankuro frowned. "They were slightly hostile."

"I bet...Kankuro, you should come to the camp with us. There are things the leader would like to tell you."

Kankuro nodded "Of course we will come."

Reem shot another look at the Leafs, and then babbled at Kankuro in the Iifernati tongue again. A bit of yarking later Reem finally nodded.

"Alright then, bring them if you wish." Reem narrowed his eyes and glared at Neji. "Though I know that Maro will not like the presence of a Hyuga. Yes, I know what you are, city squatter. I can see your eyes from here." The warrior went back to his horse and mounted it. "Let's go then." He turned the animal and the rest of his group fell into a loose formation around the Leafs.

It did not escape Neji that they were still surrounded.

* * *

Shikamaru stared at the clouds in the Sunaian sky, sighing gently to himself as the fluffy things traveled across the blue expanse. Despite the detestable sand and the even more detestable heat, Suna did have one thing going for it. A nice open sky perfect for cloud watching. He knew that he could not stay there all day, and especially not at noon. His skin would fry like an egg. However, it was nice to just lay here in the early morning on the Kazekage's citadel rooftop, watching the clouds in west where it was shady. If only for a few precious minutes. Now that he was (sigh) a jonin, he had standards to keep. He was not a child anymore, to just waste time looking at the freaking sky. He had things to do. Important things. But, no matter how old he got he knew he would still love looking at the sky.

"Oh, so here you are." Shikamaru sighed and turned his head towards the voice. Okay, he had been wrong. The open sky was not the only thing nice in Suna.

There was also Temari.

Shikamaru did not know when it had happened. Certainly not during the Chunin exams of long ago. Back then he had seen Temari and her brothers and scary and fierce opponents, people to avoid at all costs. Even when he had fought the women he had wanted to stay away from her. He didn't like her, possibly because she was a lot like his own mother, who intimidated Shikamaru to no end. The next time he saw her she was saving his life, and her brothers were saving the lives of his friends. Perhaps he had been slightly attracted to her then, but he was convinced that this was only in admiration of her considerable abilities. Then, when she gave him that little pep talk of hers he really began to admire her, not just her skills, but the person behind the rather large wind blowing fan and cocky attitude. By the time he had "returned the favor" not even he could deny that he had gone from quiet admiration to active and obvious flirting. Even Ino had noticed the flirting. And they had pretty much been flirting every since that day.

And now, with the...tripping incident...

Yeah his nose still hurt from where Kankuro had whaled on him, but Shikamaru did not really blame the man. He was not in complete control, and he had seen how brothers reacted towards people sniffing around their sisters from watching Ino's long line of admires saunter towards her door and then get trounced by the menfolk of the house.

He made sure he was never one of them.

Now, however, Shikamaru found he could not get Teamri out of his head. Of course he liked her before, but he had never really thought about it. Now, he was, and he was not sure. This was a feeling, and not something he could fully analyze.

It was a drag, and a troublesome one at that.

But, now she was walking towards him, and to Shikamaru's surprise, she sat right down there and leaned against the wall he had taken refuge and shade under.

"Just can't stop watching the sky, can you?" she asked. "What are looking for up there?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

She lookd upwards and did nto say anythign for a few minutes, then "There, that one looks like a dragon."

"...what?"

"Look, there is its tail, and its snout. Oh, come on, haven't you done this before?"

"No, I just watch them."

"Huh, you are not fun." she grinned.

Shikamaru grunted.

Time passed. "Why would look for shapes in the clouds? They are just clouds."

A long pause, then "My father and I used to do this all the time."

"...oh." Great. Awkward. But now Shikamaru could not shut up. Or at least his mouth could not "I thought he was...you know.."

"Yes, I know." Temari said tersely. "He just...he was not like that. Not at first. Before Mother died he was...well he was still stern. Always was stern. But he had his kind moments. Then Mom died, and it was like," she bit her lip "it was like he was trapped in a cold, dark place, and Mom was his only light. When she was gone he had nothing left....he didn't force her, you know? To use the demon. It was her idea, actually. She thought that since she had two already it would be alright. She had experience, and she thought she could handle it. Gaara was supposed to be our savior, and that was all she could talk about. And those things people say, that she cursed him before she died. It's a lie. Her brother just kept spreading that rumor, but I was there. She never said any of the things people said. Never." Another long pause. "I never talked about this to anyone, you know. Kankuro can't stand talking about our father, and after being lied to so much by that serpent that raised him, Gaara can't talk about it either...he never loved Gaara, not really. All he wanted to do was use him. When he could not do that he convinced Dad that Gaara had to die. Then, he lied about our mother to drive Gaara over the edge. He was twisted monster, but he was so charming no one else could see it."

"No one?" Shikamaru's eyes had been drawn to Temari. He had never seen her so chatty. It was almost amazing to watch, and heartbreaking.

"Well, I think Uncle Jhimey did. He and Dad had a huge fight about Gaara when he was only three, and Jhimey never came back to Suna after that. He was the only other person that treated Gaara like he was family back then, but Gaara doesn't remember him that well."

Shikamaru did not know how it had happened. All he knew was the he was somehow closer to her. Whether he had moved or her, or both of them, he did not know.

She glanced at him "I shouldn't be telling you this. We aren't supposed to show our weaknesses. Not to anybody. Even an ally."

"Why not?"

"One day, you might be my enemy again."

He nearly pulled back. "What?"

"In the sand we believe that today's ally could always be tomorrow's enemy. We were enemies before, or have you forgot?"

"No, I remember. But Tsunade would not attack you, and Gaara would not attack us."

"But what if you get a new Hokage? Or what if we get a new Kazekage? It could happen, Shikamaru, you know that. You do have a brain somewhere in the vacuum between your ears."

"Maybe, but I would never use anything like this against you, Temari. Even if we had to fight each other. Even if one of us has to kill the other. I am not the kind of man to use that kind of tactic on...someone I care about."

"Oh?" she sounded amused, she was getting closer. "You care about me now?"

"Yeah."

"Really?"

"...yeah." his voice was a whisper.

Before she could ask again, it happened. Again he was not sure who made the first move. Who did it first. But all at once they were closer then either of them had ever been before, and somehow his lips found hers, and they were...

For second time his life, Shikamaru could not think of anything. Nothing at all.

* * *

Later, Temari was pacing around her room, nervous and anxious.

She couldn't believe it! Of all the things! She had just kissed a Leaf villager! Not that it had been bad, in fact it was kinda fun. She would have done it again. Wanted to do it again! Wanted to go beyond just kissing, in fact.

But...he was a Leaf! A Leaf!

It could never work. He had his village, and she had his. Sure they were allies, but...

Even if the Sand and Leaf never quarreled ever again, that still left the fact that she was needed her. Gaara need her. Kankuro needed her. She had never been apart from her brothers, and she never wanted to be apart from them....

But she didn't want to be apart from Shikamaru either.

NO! She could not...get involved, with a Leaf! What if it got further then this? What if...what if...

God, this was not good! She liked Shikamaru a lot.

Oh God, what about children? She kinda wanted a few, eventually, but the children of a Leaf? Part Leaf and part Sand? How would that work?

Worse, what if they did get married, had kids, and the Sand and Leaf began to fight? Whose side would she be on? Who would he support? And what about the kids? Either way they would be fighting against those they loved.

Temari was not sure she could handle that.

She needed to talk to someone, but who? Baki was out of the question. She knew what his response would be: break it off now. Gaara...while he cared about her Temari was not sure if he was...capable of dealing with a situation like this. Despite his improvement over the years Gaara was still not that good with touchy feely issues. Might never been good with that.

Kankuro would be good. In the past Temari had always confided in her little brother, and he had confided in her. She had been the only one to know how much he had cared for his dead girlfriend, and how much he still hurt over it. He, of all the people she knew, would understand.

Yeah, he might want to kill Shikamaru for daring to kiss her, but as soon as he cooled down she knew that she could talk to him.

All she had to do was wait for him to get back.

And avoid Shikamaru at all costs.

* * *

The Runemaster held the chisel in his right hand, Chipping and scraping the metal, he carved a rune. Sky metal. The most potent kind. The symbol was old, as old as the werewolves. Important, and vital to their lives. More important then water or food or even air.

_Feral Obey._ That was what it said. It looked a bit like kanji, but none here would recognize the sign, a symbol that looked like a w, beneath which was two parallel lines, and bellow the lines an upside-down open triangle.

"I do not hear you singing, Bard." the Runemaster said.

"...what is the point?! No feral can withstand the runes! Even if you were the lowelest of the low, a feral would obey it! There is no choice in this!"

"And will you be the one to tell Cragga what went wrong if this fails? Keep singing! I want no mistakes! Better to be sure, then take a risk."

The Bard sighed heavily,and began the song again. While the Runemaster thought the man was a bloody fool, even he could admit the man's muse was powerful. He could feel his own abilities, his connection to the Tree, strengthening as the Bard sang of the Runemaster's power. How the rune he was carving was powerful. Unbeatable. No one could resist it.

Especially not the new feral. Not the one called Kankuro.

Not a chance.

The final metal shaving fell on the floor. A brief chant, and the Runemaster's hands glowed. With a wave the rune flashed once, then rattled on the table. After a seconds, it was done.

"There." it was finished. A good rune, if the Runemaster did say so himself. A small, unassuming metal medallion, hardly bigger then a coin. It was beautiful though. A nice, blue color. It shone in the light.

With a mutter the Runemaster held the ends of a chain against the rune. With a slurp the thing seemed to absorb the ends. Now it could be worn, and never would the thing break off. It was attached to that chain like a leech.

"Is it done, then?" Cregga entered the workshop. Claws clatereing across the floor, she walked over ot the bench and stared at the rune. "Ah, I can feel it. It is powerful. Very good."

"Will you be its weilder? I sense that it would be pleased with you." the Runemaster said. He was not being a sycopanth. It was not his nature. He was mearly speaking his mind. The thing did seem to resonate with Cragga.

"No." the werewolf leader grinned "I have a much better idea."

Taking the rune, she exited the workshop "Aftan! Here!" she bellowed.

The cripple emerged from the small hole he had been huddling in. After his injury he had been beaten, bitten and clawed by his packmates, who used him a whipping boy whenever they got irritated. His once shiny coat was dull and dirty. He was skinny, with ribs showing, and even his hipbones were starting to poke out a little bit.

No, Aftan was not having a good time of it.

But he was perfect for Cragga's plan.

"You." she snarled. "Come. Now."

Aftan did not argue. No one came to his aid. He knew that no one would.

He limped after his leader. She appeared to be leaving camp, for some reason. She did that often, relying on the Runemaster, her second, to keep order while she was away. He did his job well.

Aftan did not talk. It would be useless.

"Aftan, do you remember the feral?"

"The one we made about a month ago, yes?"

"Yes, and of course you know what this is?" she held out the Rune of Feral Mastery.

"Yes."

"I have a plan, listen to me..."

As Cragga talked, Aftan began to see a glimmer of hope. He could be useful again! His status! He could restore it!

He never knew that he was being used...


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Relatives

The Swooping Eagle camp was well hidden in the northern mountains. In fact, the Leafs might never have found it if they did not have tribesman escorting them there. There was no set path, instead they followed what Neji was certain were goat trails, which the Iifernati horses seemed to have no trouble with. They were relatively small and nimble animals, and seemed to be able to almost leap like deer. Eventually they came to what could only be described as a crack in the mountain side, which the Iifernati slipped through like shadows. The ninja followed them.

After a short tunnel they came to a ledge over looking what looked like a small valley. Tents of various sizes had been pitched scattered around the valley floor, as well as a group of parked wagons. At the far end of the valley was a makeshift corral, but apparently it was not used to contain the horses, because there were horses just wandering around the valley, munching grass and doing other horsey things. There were people there as well. Some of them were siting in front of there individual tents, doing various jobs. A few of the younger, teenage looking ones were in the middle of the field, apparently sparring with wooden weapons.

"Do you people live here?" Kiba asked.

"Sometimes, this is just one of our camp sites." Kankuro said. "We never show outsiders more then five or so at a time. There are always a few kept secret. This is nice, but not one of the overly secret ones."

"It is very pleasant." Hinata said.

"Better, it is defend able, that crack is the only way in or out, so we don't really have to post a guard or anything as much as we would have to somewhere else." Kankuro said.

It did not escape Neji that Kankuro now seemed more then willing to identify himself as one of them, as a Swooping Eagle.

Just because this place was identified as "safe" that did not mean that the Eagles were unaware or totally relaxed. A cry when up, and several of them took up weapons and began to approach the group, wary and on guard. Reem barked out something in that odd language of theirs. Whatever he had said caused muttering and whispering throughout the camp.

Then, someone stepped out of the crowd. All of the Swooping Eagles seemed to lean on the tall and or muscular side, but this man was a bit different. Like his fellows he was dark skinned, with a strange, scraggly thin beard. He had green eyes that for some reason reminded Neji of Temari's eyes. He was a bit shorter then the other Swooping Eagles, and pretty thin as well, almost boney. There was something almost oily about the man, something that set Neji's teeth on edge.

"Well well," the man said in a low, mocking voice "what did you bring here, Cub? Some strays? I hope you don't expect me to take care of them?"

"Hello, Uncle Jhimey. We were just in the neighborhood so I decided to drop by and find out what you know about the Land of Smoke attacking our villages."

"Did he finally send you, then?" Jhimey asked.

"No, he did not."

Jhimey scowled "A pity. Very well then! Come with me, Cub." the man started to walk past the group of ninja. He paused for a second and looked them over, a teasing smirk still on his face "Well, I doubt that you four will just go away, now will you. If Kankuro seems to think you deserve to be here we might as well welcome you." he eyes narrowed at Neji and Hinata "Steer clear of my wife and son, if I were you. They won't appreciate upper class nonsense." With that Jhimey headed towards the nearby cliffs, and Kankuro moved to follow him.

"Wait! You are just leaving us!?" Kiba asked.

"You are all adults, you will be fine. Go wander around the camp a bit. I doubt you will the opportunity to see an Iifernati camp up close often."

With that, Kankuro followed his uncle towards the rock wall.

* * *

Kankuro had no idea why Jhimey liked to hold family meetings up on top of large rocks. Maybe the man just liked the view. Or maybe it was because they would be able to see anyone coming to spy on them. Whatever the reason, it was a habit that Kankuro was familiar with, and something that he took as a matter of course.

Once they were up on a nice large rock (Jhimey, while not a ninja, was an expert at climbing large rocks), Kankuro started to question his uncle.

"What is so important that you can't tell me in front of the tribe?"

"Or your little Leaf friends. I didn't expect that from you, Cub. I remember you talking about them years ago! Shall I try to point them out from their descriptions? Smelly Dog Boy, Bug Moron, Mousey, and That Crazy Hyuga Boy that Tried to Kill the Mouse."

"Uncle..." Kankuro sighed "Focus please. Smoke. Killing people. Ringing bell here?"

"Oh, you are no fun, Cub. Very well." Jhimey started pace in a circle around Kankuro. This was another of his odd habits. He had a tendency to pace around people when he talked. Kankuro just thought it had something to do with his uncle's nervous energy. "First, tell me this, how many tribes are there?"

"Eight, plus the Other." Kankuro replied. "Bloodied Dragons, Serpent's Teeth, Sand Cats, Grinning Jackals, Night Lions, Hidden Crocodiles, Shadow Owls and our tribe, the Swooping Eagles. The Other is not to be spoken of."

"Indeed. We of the Swooping Eagles live in this land. Were do the others live?"

"Everywhere else."

"Ha ha, funny, Cub." Jhimey rolled his eyes. "At least tell me where the last four live."

"Grinning Jackals and Night Lions to the coast to the south, near the land bridge to the Land of the Twisting Vines. Hidden Crocodiles and Shadow Owls nearer east and south. No tribe claims the land closest to the rest of the Shinobi Lands save for the tribe closest to the Kazekage. That land is of the city squatters and the feudal idiot."

"Yes, now, tell me this. If this land is not frequented by those four, why are they popping up here, and why are they crossing the border between us and the Land of Smoke?"

Kankuro frowned "All four of them?" he had suspected the Jackals to be making some sort of alliance with the Smoke, but four tribes? Half the tribal power in Suna? "Why?"

"You think you know why, then?"

"Well, yeah, sort of." Kankuro snorted. "The Land of Smoke has basically declared war on us. You can bet that Gaara will not take this sitting down. The tribes must know this, even dumb asses like the Grinning Jackals. But why would they want to ally themselves with foreigners."

"I can guess." Jhimey said "For one, are you not allied with a foreigner? Several of them, in fact?"

"That is different. The alliance with the Land of Fire is good for all in Suna, not just the tribes. You know that I have always looked out for Swooping Eagles in the council, Uncle. Baki as well. But that does not mean I can just ignore good things when they happen to us. The alliance with the Fire does not hurt any tribe, nor does it weaken us."

"I know that." Jhimey said. "But listen to you Uncle for a moment. What tribe did the Third Kazekage belong to?"

"Night Lions." Kankuro said.

"Yes. Who was insulted beyond belief when your father decided that he was going to lead? When he marched into the ninja council chamber and started chopping off heads and declared himself the Fourth of your kind, who was most inflamed by this? The Night Lions. Who reacted the most badly when their new leader took a city squatter ninja wife instead of a proper Iifernati one? The Shadow Owls, are they not the most traditional of the tribes, aside from Them? And were they not insulted by the fact that this women dared to have a daughter, and then give that daughter all the training and status befitting a male?"

"I know that the Lions and the Owls hate our family, believe me I do." Kankuro said. "But the Grinning Jackals...wait..." he paused "It's because we started to crack down on the banditry, right? They always thought it was their right to attack Fire caravans, and that was one of the first things Gaara stopped when he was Kazekage."

"Indeed. As for the Crocodiles...who knows what they think?" Jhimey shrugged.

"Damn." Kankuro muttered. Not just an invasion then, but a civil war as well! "Gaara will not be expecting this, he knows nothing about the tribes!"

"I know." Jhimey sighed. "I had hoped that after his father died he would have come with you here-"

"I have tried, Uncle, don't think I have not! But he just will not listen to me."

"I know, I know." Jhimey said. "I suppose I could not expect Gaara to ignore everything that little bastard did to him, but I had hoped that he would at least be somewhat curious. His ignorance in tribal matters could be very bad in this situation. Of course, he has you."

Kankuro sighed "Uncle...I might have a problem."

"What kind of problem is that?"

Kankuro hesitated. His uncle was one of the few people he trusted totally. He had always given Kankuro good advice, despite the fact that he sometimes mocked people.

Kankuro began to tell his uncle about the werewolves.

* * *

Hinata could not help but be fascinated by the horses. In her village most people used the riding bulls, if they used anything at all. Ninja did not use mounts at all, and so she had never really be to close to a horse. She eventually found herself at the corral, staring at one of the animals, mare with a light grey, almost blueish, coat. The horse seemed just as interested at her. It snorted, then leaned its head forwards. At first Hinata could not figure out what it wanted, then it started to nudge at her clothes.

"She thinks you are me, strangely enough, and she is looking for a treat."

Hinata jumped and whirled around. She stared in astonishment.

The women looked a lot like her. Similar body structure, similar size and shape.

The same eyes. Eyes with no pupils but were not blind. Hyuga eyes.

"Y-your-" Hinata stammered.

"Katsu," the woman said, a slight smirk on her face that looked almost like Kankuro's usual expression. Then she closed on eye and tilted her head, and now she really looked a lot like Kankuro. "Horse Mistress of the Swooping Eagles."

"Horse Mistress...does that mean that you are in charge of them?" she pointed at the mare, who was still looking at Hinata expectantly.

"I train them. I make them into warhorses. I also take care of any who get sick or wounded. That mare." she nodded at the aforementioned mare "is still learning the basic commands." Katsu reached into a pocket and pulled out a sugar cube. "Watch this, Hyuga girl." The woman then barked something in the Iifernati language. The horse twitched her ears then reared on her hind legs, kicked twice and then settled back down. Katsu then gave the horse her sugar cube, which the mare ate with a happy snort.

"I have heard," the Horse Mistress said as she patted her mare's soft nose "that your people will sometimes use bulls instead of horses. Bulls!" she snorted "Dumb animals one and all. Might be a bit faster then one of my horses, but my babies are smarter and far better trained. A Iifernati horse will recognize its owner, and no one else is able to ride him unless the horse is familiar with him. An Iifernati horse will warn you if danger is nearby. And, of course, they will fight with you if you know the commands. Much better then bulls. Or Land of Smoke horseless vehicles."

Hinata nodded. "They are interesting. I've never really been this close to horse before." she said.

Katsu frowned. "Not surprised, considering." she gave Hinata a strange look, almost nervious. "You do not seem surprised to find one with your eyes in an Iifernati camp..."

Hinata shrugged "Kankuro did tell us about you."

"Really? And this does not bother you?"

"Should it?"

Katsu barked a laugh "Well well, I would have thought a Hyuga would be a bit more stuffy and pigheaded. You seem almost sweet. Not what I would have expected. And, if you are the person I think you are, then you of the main family, which is even stranger."

Hinata felt uncomfortable "How would you know what I am like? And how could you recognize me when we have never even meet?"

Katsu smiled "Kankuro is not just a babbling brook for Leafs. He visited us after the failed invasion, and he told us a few stories. None of it was particularly flattering to you are your brother."

Hinata could guess why Kankuro would have been less then impressed by her. She had a feeling that her more timid personality would have disgusted a person like Kankuro. But as for Neji..."I assume you mean Neji, and he is actually my cousin, but he is a lot like a brother to me."

"Girl, you have a strange way of identifying family members. Brothers do not kill their sisters. In fact, neither should cousins for that matter."

"Neji has problems with main branch of the family. Things have gotten better between us since the Chunin Exams."

If anything this made Katsu give Hinata what could only be described as a glare. Hinata began to feel uncomfortable.

She did not know why, but it looked like this woman had a definite problem with her. In the old days Hinata would have stuttered and walked away, but she had been trying to toughen up a little ever since the aforementioned exams. It did not work around Naruto, with whom Hinata always felt intimidated by, but it was a little better around people who were not Naruto.

"Do you have a problem with me?" Hinata asked the Iifernati woman straight out.

Katsu blinked. "I suppose I should not. I do not know you, and I suppose I should not judge. But, I have been taught all my life not to trust Leaf ninja, especially Hyuga. Look at my forehead, girl." Katsu lifted her dark bangs and pointed at her forehead "What do you see, girl?"

"Nothing," at first Hinata was puzzled, then she got it "You have no curse mark, do you?"

"My ancestor, Toshi, had it, but his part Iifernati children did not. None in our direct line has that curse mark. However, it has kinda taken the form of a family boogyman. Ever since Toshi we are taught that the Hyuga are evil and that if they catch one of their free descendants they will curse us and take us as slaves. We see your Branch members as their tamed lap dogs, and the Main family as tyrants. Only we in the tribe are free. Do you see?"

"I see, and I think I understand." Hinata sighed "I am not fond of the curse mark myself, after seeing what it did to my cousin. I do care about him, and I don't like it." she shook her head "I really can't do anything about it, but..."

Katsu shook her head. "I would not expect you to do anything about it." she said.

For some reason that made it worse.

* * *

Neji, who had no interest in equines, had wandered over to the fighting ring, were the younger generation of Swooping Eagles were battling with wooden weapons. One, in particular, seemed to be doing rather well. He was about Kankuro's size, with black hair and skin a few shades paler then his Eagle brethren. He carried wooden models of two curved scimitars.

All of a sudden, the man whirled around, and Neji's eyes widened. This man had Hyuga eyes! Neji quickly surmised that this must be Kankuro's cousin Maro.

Maro, because that is indeed who it was, practically snarled at Neji. Neji could not help but notice that the eyes were about the only Hyuga feature on this man's face. In fact, he looked a lot like Kankuro. His nose a bit more narrow then his cousins, his mouth was smaller, and he was more muscular, but all in all he was very similar to Kankuro. It was startling to see Hyuga eyes on a face that seemed more Iifernati then Hyuga.

He also looked extremely and royally pissed.

"What are you doing here, Hyuga dog?" he bellowed.

Neji bristled. He sure as hell did not like being talked to like that! Not from anyone! "I came here with you cousin, show a little respect."

"Ha! Why the hell should I respect you!? You are a Hyuga! I have no reason to show a foreign city squatter anything! Much less respect."

"I can see your eyes from all the way over here. You are Hyuga as well." Neji said.

Maro grinned wildly and pointed to his forehead. "No way, Leafy. I may have your eyes, but that is all. I have no curse on my head." to emphasize this he parted his bangs. Sure enough, there was no curse mark there. "I'm a free man, not a Hyuga main family slave! I may have some of your blood, but I was born and raised Iifernati. I don't care why you are here, but you will not catch me identifying myself with slave drivers and their dogs!"

Neji could tell that any comment he made to the contrary would just end up in a brawl, something he did not want to do in the middle of a camp of Swooping Eagles who would probably be on Maro's side in this. So, he raised his hands and spoke as calmly as possible "Look, I would rather not get into a fight with you. I have no quarrel with you."

Maro growled "Really? Just what I expected! Not going to stand up for your people? That figures. I have heard about you from my cousin, Neji Hyuga. You have no loyalty to your kin!"

Neji frowned. Didn't the man see the contradiction there? He sat there calling the Hyuga family tyrants and dogs, but then he criticized Neji for his past actions?

"Trust me, I understand your hostility. I was not to fond of the Hyuga way myself, long ago. In fact, I still do not agree with many things they do. But, they are not all bad. I-"

"You little hypocrite! You spend half you time trying to kill your sister, then you turn around and act just like the rest of the Hyuga slaves!"

Neji was getting irritated "How do you know about that?"

"I told him, unfortunately." Kankuro came up from behind Neji "Honestly, Maro, are you trying to cause an international incident?"

Maro laughed and started to talk to Kankuro in their own language, his voice and attitude now completely changed.

Neji took this opportunity to edge away. That had been...strange. But what Maro had said had actually struck a cord with Neji. Was he right? Was being friendly to the Hyuga main branch now make him a hypocrite?

All of a sudden he heard Maro bellow out "Him?! Guard you? Kankuro, that is a bad idea! That Hyuga mutt will betray you in a heartbeat! Mark my words, he knows nothing of family!"

Neji knew that those words were meant for him, as much as they were for Kankuro.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Control

They spent the night with the Swooping Eagles. The group of Leaf nins and Kankuro actually got to eat dinner with Jhimey and his family, which actually turned out a little awkward. For one thing, the Swooping Eagles were different from the rest of Suna. While the Sand ninja were reserved and proud and almost unapproachable people, the Iifernati of the Swooping Eagles were almost the exact opposite. While just as proud they were also much more passionate and fiery, and also extremely touchy. This was evidence by the fact that Jhimey and Katsu literally seemed unable to keep their hands of each other, even through the meal (which seemed to consist of slabs of meat roasted). Whenever they were together they seemed to be touching, at the very least holding hands. Maro too seemed prone to touching, though most of his contact was friendly punching and slapping, not to mention loud and uproarious laughing.

It made every ninja there uncomfortable. Very, very uncomfortable. Even Kankuro seemed unsettled, though less then his Leaf fellows.

Also, Maro still hated Neji. A lot.

Neji was more then ready to leave. Maro had been rude to him practically all night, and it was irritating the Leaf ninja to no end. He could not figure out what had made the Iifernati man hate him so much. In the end, he asked Kankuro about it, once he had manged to corner the man after the meal.

Kankuro was uncomfortable about this subject, but Neji was persistent. "You really want to know?" the puppeteer grumbled. "Oh fine then! The truth is..." Kankuro hesitated "More then likely, Maro probably thinks you are cursed."

"...what?" Neji had not expected a response like that.

"Look, it's another cultural thing. Iifernati put a big emphasis on family loyalty. They believe that it is more important then life itself. If you hurt a member of you family badly, even if it is accidental, then you are cursed. Maro thinks what you did in the Chunin exams to Hinata was kind of disgusting. It's kind of taboo here. A bit like...well....an equivalent would be having sex with your sister, or something like that. To an Iifernati attacking family is just plain unnatural."

"He seems to have no trouble attacking me." Neji grumbled.

"Well, not really." Kankuro said "He's taunted you, yes, but he's not attacked you. There is a difference. It's a fine line in Iifernati terms."

"But, Gaara killed his uncle, right? And didn't that uncle also try to kill him?"

"Yeah, but he was not Iifernati, nor was Mother. And Gaara..." Kankuro shrugged. The fact was, that many people in Suna did indeed believe that Gaara had been cursed. And, privately, Kankuro thought they were right. Gaara had a miserable childhood, and who was to say that his killing of his own mother had not been at the root of it? Sure, it had not been Gaara's fault, but according to the shamans the spirits of the gods did not look favorably on a kin-killer, even if it was an accident. However, the Iifernati religion also had room for redemption. It was said that a person could do penance and revoke the curse on them. Who was to say that, in becoming the Sand's protector, that Gaara did not break his own curse? It was something that Kankuro himself believed fairly strongly. While he did not like to advertise it, Kankuro was actually a fairly superstitious man, and did believe strongly in the Iifernati ways. He didn't talk about it, but it did go on in his head.

"Look," Kankuro said, growing uncomfortable with the conversation, "I am just telling you what he thinks. Don't come whining to me just because it does not make sense to you. You don't see me badgering you about that fate shit you swallow!"

And that was that.

For the moment at least.

* * *

By the morning everyone was ready to get on the road. A sense of urgency had filled them. They all had the feeling that the Land of Smoke might try something. Kankuro was taking the strange rifle with him, to show to the puppeteers. He was certain they could figure it out.

"You may be Fire, but as long as you are allied to my nephew, you are welcome in the camps of the Swooping Eagle." Jhimey told them as they got ready to go. The Swooping Eagles had been kind enough to give them more food and water. Hopefully there would be no more roasted lizards. "And, as long as you bring no curse marks for my wife and son, you Hyuga I will consider part of my family."

Kankuro hissed in Neji ear "That's a big honor, Hyuga. Be grateful!"

Neji was not sure if he wanted to be considered family of a man whose son seemed to hate the Hyuga so much, and indeed Maro was still looking at Neji like he wanted to deck the Leaf nin. However, Neji was brought up in a political quagmire, and he knew how to be polite to people who wanted to see him dead.

Maro, however, had no such reservations "Father might accept you, but I don't Hyuga." the warrior snarled "Watch your back, cousin! I still think this one will be your death!"

"You know nothing about me." Neji said, trying to keep his voice even.

"I know enough! You might be a capable fighter, but you have the heart of a cold snake! You don't care for Kankuro at all, and I doubt you would stand by him if things get rough!"

Neji decided it was not worth it to argue.

Katsu and Hinata, on the other hand, were parting on much better terms. Hinata had developed a fascination with the Swooping Eagle horses, and Katsu had been pleased to talk about them. Hinata found herself not only telling the older woman goodbye, but ended up giving the gray mare a goodbye pat on the nose.

"Were you one of us, I would pair you with her." Katsu said "She seems taken with you." and indeed the mare seemed to like Hinata great deal.

"Absolutely not." Neji muttered. He did not want one of those smelly ill tempered beasts sniffing around his cousin!

Hinata gave the mare on last pet and went to stand with her cousin. She knew a horse would not fit in at the Hyuga compound. Her father would never approve. But, she wished it were different. She liked the horse a lot.

With that the ninja were off.

As soon as they were gone the Swooping Eagles began to pack up.

"Are you sure we should not wait for Ticael?" Katsu asked, referring to the Eagle runner that had gone with the survivors of the massacre back to Suna.

"He will catch up." Jhimey said "But we need to find Iren."

"Iren of the Bloodied Dragons?"

"Yes. It may come to war. And, if it comes, I want my nephew to have all the support he can get. Even if Gaara does not care for us, I still care for him!"

Katsu nodded, and the soon the Eagles were off to find the Bloodied Dragons, their longtime allies.

* * *

Ticael of the Swooping Eagles had just managed to escort the survivors to Suna. As soon as he got there he demanded to see the Kazekage.

Gaara had never wanted anything to do with the Swooping Eagles. The last uncle he knew had betrayed him, so he was wary of Jhimey and all he stood for. No matter how many times Baki, Temari and Kankuro told him that his other uncle was a supporter of his, Gaara could not bring himself to meet with the man.

This uncertainty had filtered down to his men, and the guards at Suna's gate were at first reluctant to let in a dusty and irritated looking tribesman, even when there was a group of haggard looking people trailing behind him. What was worse, Ticael had temporally forgotten how to speak the ninja language in his excitement, and was speaking Iifernati in a rapid fire pace that the guards could not keep up with.

"Look, slow down!" one of the guards demanded "Damned desert rat! Slow I said!"

Ticael bellowed at them. They caught the phrase "city squatter" and "moron", and that was it. This did not endure the Swooping Eagle to them.

"What is going on here?" Temari had heard that there was an issue at the gates, and had gone to investigate. It seed to be the best way to stay away from Shikamaru.

Shikamaru had apparently decided that he was in love. He had finally admitted it to himself, and now that he had he was determined to make Temari realize how much she loved him. To that end he had made a annoyance of himself, and Temari was getting irritated. She was constantly fighting the urge to do things with Shikamaru, and it was highly distracting.

She did not know if it was love, but...it was troublesome.

Giving the poor distraught tribesman a break she started to talk to him in the Iifernati tongue, a language she was just as fluent in as her brother. While she was not as fully integrated as Kankuro, Temari did know enough to get by.

What she heard nearly floored her.

* * *

Gaara was stunned by what Temari was telling him "The entire village is gone?" he asked.

Temari nodded. "They all confirm it. The Land of Smoke has definitely attacked us."

Gaara sighed. War. It could only be war. Of course he could not stand with people attacking his country! No one was going to attack his people and get away with it.

"Kankuro should be back soon, but I am not going to wait for his report. Send a message to the Daimyo," Temari frowned. "I know he will dither, but we must at least make the effort to warn him. I also want runners sent to the major oasis cities. Warn the mayors to beware of the Land of Smoke's machines. Temari, besides Kankuro you and Baki know the most about the Iifernati. How will they react?"

Temari nodded "The Swooping Eagles will be on our side. They are our tribe." Gaara frowned slightly at that, but said nothing "The Bloodied Dragons will follow them. The Night Lions and the Shadow Owls hate us, and so do the Grinning Jackals. As for the Hidden Crocodiles and the Serpent's Teeth...I have no idea Gaara."

"I see." Gaara said. "I want the puppeteers to send me as much information about the Land of Smoke weaponry as they can. And Temari," he hated to give this order, but it had to be done "send the Leaf villager's home."

"But, they were supposed to reinforce us!"

"Against werewolves, not in a war against a nation that the Land of Fire has barely had any contact with. I do not know if Lady Tsunde will want to commit troops to something like this.

Temari tried not to grit her teeth in frustration. Gaara spent to much time thinking about the safety of two nations when he should be worrying about one!

"What about Neji, shouldn't he stay to guard Kankuro?"

"Kankuro will be fine until it is a full moon. And then we can just loose him in the maze. Neji is not necessary any more."

Temari sighed. It looked like the Leafs really would be going home. And that meant Shikamaru was going with them...

Damn!

* * *

Officially Temari was up on the ledges overlooking Suna to wait for her brother.

How Shikamaru found her there she had no idea.

"I don't like the thought of leaving you to fight a war with some machine using barbarians." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Who knows, maybe your Hokage will decide to support us..." Temari doubted it. The Fire Nation was a very peaceful minded place. They would not be as eager as Sunaians to fight. Shikamaru doubted it as well, unless something really drastic happened.

"Still, I almost would rather stay here." Shikamaru said quietly.

Temari stared at him "Are you sure about that? I thought you had your own nation to take care of?"

"I would almost rather take care of you."

Temari smirked "You are a chauvinistic pig, Shikamaru."

And...well lets just say that things started to progress from there. While no clothes actually came off, they were just about to get that point when a rather irritated voice said "And what the hell are you doing to my sister, Nara?"

"Oh shit, they are early." Shikamaru said as he rolled off Temari. Kankuro was giving him a look that clearly stated that the only reason he was still standing was because Shikamaru still had his pants on.

"Hi, Kankuro." Shikamaru said, for some reason witty retorts escaped him.

Kankuro growled. Literally. Bared teeth and all.

"I better go." Shikamaru said.

"Good idea. I think he bites." Temari said.

"Guys," Shikamaru looked over at his fellow Leaf ninja, who were looking at Shikamaru as if they thought he had lost his mind "We have to go pack. We are going back to the Leaf Village."

"...really?" Shino said. "I wonder why." his tone suggested that he thought something was strange here. Maybe Gaara was not pleased with his sister's new sugar daddy?

Shikamaru tried to pretend he had not just been making out with a Sand ninja, even though Kiba was giving him a smirk, Neji was just glaring at him, Shino was...being Shino, and Hinata just looked exasperated.

"Take the gun." Kankuro handed the weapon to Kiba. "Go the playhouse and ask for Sticks. He'll know what to with it." he turned to his sister "Can we talk?"

Temari nodded "Yes."

"Without him?"

"He needs to pack."

"But-" Shikamaru said.

"Go, Shikamaru, it's fine. I need to talk to my brother." Temari said.

"He might-"

Temari glared at him "Don't even think of finishing that sentence, Leaf." she growled "Kankuro would never hurt me, and you are an idiot for even thinking of it for a second!"

Shikamaru sighted. He didn't like the way that Kankuro was snarling, but he was not going to argue with Temari. He knew that look. It was her I am Going to Hit You With My Fan Now look. So he left, trying to ignore Kiba's teasing as he went.

As soon as they were gone Kankuro stopped snarling. He raised his eyebrow at Temari "...him?"

"Yeah, him." Temari shrugged.

"Damn it, Temari, a Leaf villager? The most lazy, do-nothing Leaf villager there ever lived? What are you thinking?"

"I don't know. Things just started to happen."

"Temari, I-" Uncross stopped. He knew what this could mean. She might leave him. Leave the Sand to go be with...that. His sister could end up a stinking Leaf! But...what is she really did like Shikamaru? Kankuro's first instinct had been the one that told him that he must defend his sister's honor, no matter what, but deep inside he had been kinda seeing this coming. He had seen what the two of them were like with each other. He didn't like it, but he loved Temari. Loved her to much to tell her that she should not be with a man if she loved him.

"Temari, do you love him?" he asked.

"I think I might. I want him, Kankuro. I don't know why but I do."

Kankuro laughed "Well, I guess that means you will have him! I'll tie him up in the backyard for you, if he tries to run!"

Temari laughed. "You are a moron, Kankuro."

"Yeah, I know. But Temari..." Kankuro sighed "I want you to stay. I won't lie to you. If you left I'd lose the one person in this village that knows me the most, that understands me the best. I am not sure how I would survive losing my big sister. But, if you really want him, if you really want to be with him, I won't stand in your way."

"Maybe he could come here." she thought aloud.

"I hope so. But, I will support you either way." Kankuro said. Usually they did not show how much they cared about each other, but now they could not help it. Kankuro found himself hugging his sister, and for once he was not thinking about how this looked.

It would be his greatest mistake.

They were so caught up, they did not notice the two werewolves lurking behind a rock.

"See the girl? He cares for her. It is obvious in the way they touch!" Cragga said "You know what to do! Go!"

Aftan gripped the rune in his remaining claw and stepped around the boulder. He snarled, and the two Sand ninja whirled around. Temari grimaced in anger and pulled out her fan. "You! Werewolf!" she snarled.

"Yes, just like your brother there." Aftan tripped over the strange words, but he was understandable.

"You just made a big mistake, wolfy." Kankuro snarled and summoned his puppets "Time for you pay!"

"I don't think so, feral." the other werewolf said. He held the rune in his hand and muttered the activation word.

Kankuro snarled and lunged with his puppets. Temari held her fan and prepared to follow her brother in the assault.

But then the rune glowed "Feral! Stop! Obey."

It was like being hit on the head by a mule. Kankuro felt a jolt in his mind, and all of a sudden his body refused to obey his commands. He stopped, his puppets fell to the ground. He struggled to pick them up. To fight. But he could not move. It was like his body and mind were cut off. All he could do was stand there, mentally struggling, but unable to stop it.

Temari stopped. Something was wrong with her brother. Why was he stopping?

"Kankuro! What is wrong?" she asked.

Aftan smiled. He liked this! He was in control now! A feral, completely under his command! It felt wonderful.

"He belongs to me now." Aftan gloated.

It felt so good...


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Blood-Soaked Sand

"Kankuro! Snap out of it!" Temari bellowed. Her brother did not move. She turned her glare at Aftan. "Let him go!"

Aftan grinned. Here was his opportunity to have fun! He had never had this kind of control over another being before! He was going to make the most of it.

"He'll do whatever I want with this." Aftan tapped the rune with his claw. Behind the rock, Cragga groaned. What a show off! The little fool!

_Good thing I never told him anything important, or he'd be spilling it all for that woman!_ Cragga thought.

Temari was also thinking that this werewolf was an idiot. But she was happy with this. If she could keep him talking...

This plan was sent out the window when Aftan, almost drunk with the power he seemed to hold over Kankuro, ordered the Sand ninja to walk over to him, kneel down and start to lick his feet. Kankuro bellowed and swore in his mind, and through the rune Aftan could hear every word the furious man uttered in his head, but it only served to amuse him. However, the rune truly did seem to have some power that went beyond even a genjutsu, because Kankuro could not help himself. His feet took him over to the werewolf seemingly of their own accord. He could not stop his legs from bending and dropping him to the ground. He could not disobey, no matter how much he tried, or stop himself from doing the most humiliating thing he had ever done: licking that monster's smelling paws.

Kankuro wanted to kill this werewolf so badly! He wanted to rip this beast apart, but he could not seem to break the spell he was under.

Seeing this blew all thoughts of getting this werewolf this plans out of Temari's head. How dare this beast humilate her brother like this! How dare he?! The werewolf was going to pay. With a flourish Temari launched herself into the air, riding her fan above the scene. With a an angry cry she hovered just above Aftan, and then with a swift mostion she reached dwon and folded the fan as she leaped downward, using gravity to add power to the blow she was going to inflict ont eh werewolf. Right on its head, in fact.

Unfortuantly for her Aftan manged to see it and leaped backwards, avoiding the attack. Temari growled and started to swing the folded fan at Aftan, determined to protect her brother from the beast.

Aftan grinned. She still did not quite understand the danger she was in "Feral. Attack her! Defend me!"

Temari realized that if the beast could make Kankuro do something as out of character and downright humiliating as the kneeling and the foot licking, then it would probably be able to command him to do this as well. She turned, intending to knock Kankuro out. Sure it would hurt him, but he would live.

Unfortunately she was just a bit too slow. As she turned around she felt hands, normally used for the task of controlling puppets, around her neck. Kankuro lifted her up and began to tighten his grip. Gasping, Temari looked down at her brother.

What she saw in his face would haunt her for the rest of her life. She was used to his anger, his volatile temper. She had even gotten used to the feral ferocity that the werewolfism had caused inside of him. She was not, however, used to see him like this. His face was totally and completely blank. No emotion, no feeling, just a strange, slack jawed expression that was totally foreign to her little brother's features. He was never meant to look this...lifeless. It was like he had just become one of his own puppets. It seemed there was nothing, absolutely nothing, left of Kankuro. The inhumanity of the werewolf had been bad, but this lack of any emotion (or indeed brain functions) was so much worse.

Temari knew how superstitious her brother could be, in fact she was one of the few people who really understood that. Although she was not as enamored by the Iifernati traditions as he was, she was aware of them and knew them pretty well. She knew that, if Kankuro ended up hurting her, that would pretty much devastate him.

"Sorry about this." she gasped, then she kneed him in the groin, hoping that the blank look did not mean that Kankuro's nerve endings were cut off or something like that.

Thankfully it had not worked out that way, and Kankuro's grip did loosen. Temari wiggled out of his grasp and swung her fan, hitting him in the side. She was determined to knock her brother out, then she could deal with the werewolf.

At least that was the plan. She knew her wind would not work on the werewolf, and she did not want to hurt Kankuro to badly. She knew that she was holding back, and that might not be the best thing, but she could not quite bring herself to hurt Kankuro. It was difficult just fighting him.

"Feral, transform." Aftan ordered. Then, to Temari's shock, fur began to sprout on Kankuro's body. His fangs and claws grew in. He was transforming into a werewolf.

In broad daylight.

_I should have predicted this! _Temari thought, and it was true. If a werewolf could appear before them in daylight didn't that mean that Kankuro could do it to? They had never tried to see if he could transform under his own will, or if it was even possible. Apparently it was.

That was not good. What was worse was that Kankuro seemed to be transforming faster then he normally would, as if he was not fighting it as he normally did. Perhaps the rune had such a firm grip that he could not resist? Within moments it was done, and Kankuro was fully werewolf. Still, thorough it all, was that same blank look. He snarled, fangs bared, and lunged at Temari.

Temari swung her fan and smacked him on the shoulder, but she was just a bit to slow again. Kankuro leaped and landed on top of her, teeth aimed at her neck. She twisted just in time, and the fangs meet her shoulder instead of her throat. She grunted in pain and grabbed his ears, twisting and pulling, trying to get him off. She thought she might be screaming, but it was hard to tell if it was fear or anger. Perhaps both. She felt what she at first thought was hot knives digging into her side, but realized that it was claws.

She was being mauled by the last person in the world she ever thought would hurt her. Even when she realized that he was a werewolf she had never thought that he would hurt her. Never. Ever since they were little they had always been there for each other, protecting and supporting each other. There had been very little sibling rivalry between them, even though Kankuro sometimes got on her nerves at times. With a brother like theirs they had to band together out of sheer survival. And, in effect, when their mother died Temari had to basically take care of her little brother almost on her own, with little help. So, even at Kankuro's most savage werewolfness, Temari knew that he would never hurt her.

Now, that assumption had been shattered. She realized that it was not his fault. Kankuro did not seem to be able to fight the power that the other werewolf held over him.

She could feel her blood pouring down her sides. She was getting dizzy and weak with blood loss. No! This could not happen! No way was she going to die here! Not like this! She lifted her legs and began to kick at Kankuro's stomach, trying to dislodge him. It seemed to have little effect. His fangs seemed to have locked on her shoulder, and he was not letting go.

Apparently, her voice had carried down to Suna, or maybe the Leafs had just been slow, but all of a sudden she heard shouting. With an angry bark Akamaru rammed into Kankuro, and the werewolf let Temari go. He did not attack Akamaru, and Temari realized that this was because the other werewolf had not ordered it.

_Great, saved by the Leaf mutt._ Temari thought. She tried to get up, but her body just didn't seem to want to work with her. She was shaking and dizzy. There was an awful lot of red in the sand. An awful lot. And she could still feel it pooling around her body. She was struggling to get to her feet, but it was not working. Then, she felt someone's arms wrap around her shoulders. She winched in pain and looked up. She groaned. Shikamaru. Oh this was just so freaking great! Now she was a damsel in distress complete with Knight in Shiny Armor. She was supposed to be a ninja, not a little wilting flower!

But, there was something more important then that right now.

"The thing in the other's hand, it's controlling him." she whispered. She knew that Shikamaru would get it. "Not his fault. Not..." she just could not keep her eyes open. She was fading, and no matter how much she struggled she could not keep her eyes open.

Shikamaru looked up at the situation. Yes, there was indeed another werewolf standing there, grinning like a maniac and glutching something in its hand. Something that was glowing. Shikamaru, though pissed and scared at the sight of Temari, still had it together enough to anazlize the situation. He knew that Kankuro would never had attacked his sister, not even in wolf form. It made sense, though, that a werewolf would have a way to control another. They were using unfamilar magic, and who knew what they were capable of?

"I understand." Shikamaru assured her.

Meanwhile, Akamaru was literally sitting on Kankuro, making sure he could not move. Shikamaru noted how the werewolf did not struggle or snarl. That was out of character. He knew the werewolf would have fought back, normally. And, there was the expression on his face. Even as a werewolf you could kind of tell what was going on in Kankuro's head. There were emotions when the wolf came out, most of them of the wild kind, but they were there. Now, there was just an empty look. An unnatural look. Shikamaru glared at the other werewolf.

"Get that other werewolf." he order, and the others (who were used to following Shikamaru's orders) obeyed. Kiba's team and Neji had returned when Kiba and Akamaru's keen ears heard Temari screaming, and had rushed back to find Kankuro in wolf form, savaging his own sister.

Neji lunged at Aftan, who by now had realized that he might be in trouble here. Turning he tried to flee, intending to run back to Cragga. He rounded behind the rock and skidded to a halt.

His leader was not there.

He just had time to realize that he had been used, when Neji rounded the boulder and slammed his hand into the back of Aftan's neck. Normally he would have just been knocked out by the blow, but starvation and ill treatment had taken its toll on the werewolf, and as soon as the edge of Neji's hand meet his neck the fragile bones snapped like twigs, and Aftan fell down dead instantly.

Neji was a bit surprised. Now that he had a chance to examine the enemy he saw how pathetically thin the beast was, and how mangy and ragged it looked. It was clearly not the mastermind behind all of this. A flunky then, and an inept on at that. Neji was sorry that he had killed it. They might have been able to get information out of it, but now it was dead. A shame.

Neji shrugged and started to search the werewolf. He quickly found the rune and picked it up. Strange. He had never seen anything like this. He used the Byakugan, but all he could see was a strange glow around it. He had no idea what the glow was for, but he did not like it at all. He shrugged and decided to take it with him. It was obviously the cause of the spell Kankuro was under.

Neji walked back to the others. He could see that Temari was in bad shape. She had huge lacerations running from her ribs down to her hips, and the bite on her shoulder was deep and painful looking.

"I need to get her to the hospital." Shikamaru was starting to pick her up and carry her. He was glad she was not seeing this. She would be pissed at having to be helped, no matter how badly hurt she was. "Take care of him, Neji." Shikamaru nodded at Kankuro, unable to look at the werewolf. He knew, logically, that Kankuro was a much a victim in this as Temari, but right now he really hated him. He could not help it. It was illogical, but feelings rarely are logical. All Shikamaru wanted to do right now was make Kankuro pay for doing th is, but he resisted the urge. He was giving Neji the duty of taking the werewolf in hand, because he was not sure if he would end up helping Kankuro or mashing his face in the sand. Turning, with Temari still in his arms, he started back to Suna.

Neji walked over to Kankuro, who was still being sat upon by Akamaru. The wolf was not struggling or complaining about this. Now that Neji was not focused on the enemy, he to noticed the odd expression on Kankuro's wolfy snout.

"He is not responding to us." Shino noted. He had held back because he knew his chakra saturated bugs would be useless against a werewolf. But, now that the wolf seemed unwilling or unable to do anything. The bug master peered into the wolf's eyes. No response.

"This is weird. I don't like it." Kiba snapped his fingers in front of Kankuro's nose. Not even a blink. "What kind of genjustu is this?"

"I think it might be the same type of power that changed him into a werewolf in the first place." Neji showed them the rune "What do you think this is?"

Everyone stared at it. No one had any idea.

"Wish he would turn back to human." Neji muttered. Kankuro as a werewolf made him nervous. As soon as he said that the rune glowed and Kankuro began to shift back to human. Soon he was human again, but now the blank look was even more obvious. He had turned back, but it was clear he was still under the rune's power.

"Huh, why did that happen? Did he just wear off?" Kiba grunted.

"Hmmm, the thing glowed..." Neji was started to put two and two together. "Kankuro, stand up." Kankuro stood. "Alright...now walk to the boulder." Kankuro obeyed. "Ah, I see! The thing lets you control the werewolf! Interesting..."

"Wonderful. How do you turn it off?" Shino asked. This thing made him uncomfortable. He didn't like to see a strong, capable shinobi basically being used as a tool. It was wrong. Especially the soulless look. Even though Kankuro was not his favorite ninja, Shino did not like seeing a person with so much life being reduced to the mental functions of a vegetable.

"Let me see. Maybe...Kankuro, snap out of it." Neji said. He hoped the order would bring Kankuro back. It did. Like a light being switched on, Kankuro shook his head and blinked. The blankness vanished, and for a moment Neji almost regretted it. Because, for just a second, a look of such complete and total devastation crossed Kankuro's features that it almost hurt to see. Immediately, Kankuro got control of himself by using the simple solution of turning his back on the Leafs and refusing to look an anybody.

"Okay, I'm fine now," he said abruptly, "but if you don't mind I would like to be alone for a while."

The Leafs looked at each other. Finally, Neji jerked his head towards Suna "Go, I'll stay with him. You still need to get that 'gun' to the puppeteers. And someone needs to tell Gaara about this."

Kiba nodded, and the rest of his team left. Kankuro did not complain about Neji's refusal to leave.

_Probably better this way._ Kankuro thought _I mean, he goes away for just five seconds and I go turn on...oh gods..._

With an almost inaudible moan Kankuro sank to the ground. He had just mauled Temari! A crime that, according to everything he believed, was worse then anything save perhaps actually killing her. And, what was worse, was the taste in his mouth. The taste of human blood was not like the taste of animal. It was...sweet, almost like candy. It had tasted nice, pleasant. And it made Kankuro sick. The thought that his own sister's blood was appealing to his wolf side...it was appalling.

_And I was starting to like being a werewolf! What kind of monster am I!_

"Kankuro, it was not your fault. This thing," Neji waved the rune "it is at fault. Don't-"

"Hyuga, can't you see? I can't be trusted. Not at all. Not at any time. If someone can just walk up to me with one of those and take over, what else could they order me to do?"

"The maze-"

Kankuro laughed bitterly "Oh sure! But, what if someone used that thing and got me out? They could order me to attack my own village. It must be why they didn't kidnap me after they changed me. They didn't need to! They just use one of those and I would come willingly! Damn it!" Kankuro slammed his fist into the ground "I just attacked my sister, Hyuga! If they can make me do that they can make me do anything! And we are just on the brink of a war! What if the werewolves on are on Smokes side!? I am the worst liability that the Sand had ever faced! Right now I am more of a threat then all the new guns combined! I...should not even be here. I am to much of a threat."

"What are you saying?"

"What do you think?"

Neji hesitated. He knew of the samurai tradition of ritualized suicide, but, he had never thought that the Sand would approve of that.

"If you left-"

"They would find me. I would be walking into their hands. Don't beat around the bush, Hyuga. The best way to get rid of threats to the Sand is to eliminate them."

Neji could feel bile rising to his throat. Of all the people to contemplate suicide, Kankuro was the last person he would ever had thought would do it...but he supposed it made sense. Neji knew how much Kankuro loved his village, and Neji knew that Kankuro would die for it. But...to kill yourself for it? Neji could not think of anyone in the Leaf village doing the same, but the Sand was different. While they were easing a bit on their stricter traditions, they still emphasized loyalty to the village above all else. And Kankuro didn't just obey it, he practically lived and breathed it. If there was a threat to the Sand Kankuro would destroy it.

Even if that threat was himself.

"I am not a Uchiha, I will not betray those that trust me." Kankuro said.

And, that pretty much clinched it. Though he knew that he would hate himself for this, Neji also knew that Kankuro was right. He was a threat, and now it seemed like there was no way around it. No way at all. It was not quite like killing yourself because you were depressed. In a way, this was almost martyrdom. Neji knew that Kankuro was right in beliving that there were more werewolves. The dead one behind the rock was a flunky, pure and simple. Who knew when the leaders would strike?

All of this made the fact of it no easier, though.

_I can make it quick._ Neji thought. _I doubt it will be painful, if I do it right._

"If you are sure." Neji walked over to Kankuro. Gently he grabbed the Sand ninja's head. "Hold still, it will only take a moment."

"Hehehe, didn't know you had the guts, Hyuga." Neji winched at the approval in Kankuro's voice. He knew that, even though he could not see Kankuro's face, that this moment would haunt him for the rest of his life. He could practically hear Maro's voice, saying that Neji would be the death of Kankuro. Maro had been right. Worse, he had been right in that Neji had not done what he had needed to do. Neji had cared enough to watch out for Kankuro, became complacent, and now Temari was hurt, and Kankuro...

It was, in effect, as much Neji's fault. At least, that is what he thought. And now, this was the only way to fix it. It was his responsibility after all. He knew that Temari would hate him for it. Gaara would hate him for it. Perhaps everyone would hate him for it. Neji thought that Shikamaru, more then anyone, might have come up with a solution, but he was not here. And, what if he could not? What if Shikamaru agreed that Kankuro needed to be killed? That would have been a great way of alienating Temari.

Neji had no trouble taking the blame, and the responsibility.

Neji took a deep breath and prepared to twist...


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

The Start of a Journey

In the end, Neji did not get the chance to see if he could actually do it. He was still wavering a bit, because even though he did understand the logic of this, he still was a Leaf ninja. The Leafs had been raised to value their friends, and though Neji was not as loud (or obnoxious) about it as Lee and Naruto could be, that did not mean he did not believe it. So, he was stalling a bit, just standing there, raking his brain and trying to figure out a solution.

Nothing came to him, until...

"Well, this is melodramatic." Neji had no idea how that witch, Cassudina, manged to appear behind him without his noticing, but there she was. "I mean, wow Crowboy, you take this stuff seriously don't you?"

"Hi Cassie. Go away, I'm committing suicide by Leaf here."

"As poetic as that is it is also exteramly unncessary." Cassudina said. "Or did you forget that I was studying the situation."

"You found something?" Neji realesed Kankuro's head, inwardly greatful for this. He might have kissed Cassudina...if he had not be utterly convinced that she would have truned him into something small and slimy if he had.

"I did. You with the eyes, let me see that rune."

"This thing." Neji produced the rune.

"Yes," the witch took the rune and closed her eyes, muttering. After a bit she opened her eyes "I found a few things about werewolves. Kankuro, what is beyond the Land of Twisting Vines to the southwest and the Land of Smoke to the northwest?"

"A broad patch of plains, then an inland sea."

"One the other side of the sea?"

"A range of mountains."

"Beyond the mountains?"

"I don't know, Cassie."

The witch smiled. "If one were to go to the small collection of villages that line the mountains, one can hear rumors. Some of those rumors are of the Shadow People who stalk the night and kill in the darkness...ninja in other words." she grinned at them "But, there are other rumors. They say, on the other side of the mountains there are people who turn into wolves. Also, somehting about monsters. Do you get my drift?"

"You think that the werewolves come from beyond those mountains?" said Neji.

"Indeed." Cassudina said "And the magic that is in your hands right now is something never seen here before. However, since we know nothing about the land beyond the mountains, and if this is werewolf magic, does it not make sense that they answers you seek might be there?"

"But, what if they are invading from there?" Kankuro said.

Cassudina shrugged "Then you would be playing into their hands, of course. But, there is something else. Did you not notice it, Leaf?"

"Notice what?" Neji asked.

"Use that vision of yours, boy."

Neji activated the Byakugan, and then he saw it. A...string or a line of that strange glowing werewolf magic. It stretched from the rune to his own heart, and then over to Kankuro's chest.

"It's...connecting us." Neji said "I thought I had canceled it powers."

"No, you merely ordered your werewolf to act as he normally would."

"What! Are you saying that I'm still under that thing's spell!" Kankuro shrieked.

"Yes, in fact, I believe it has somehow tuned itself towards both you and Neji. Basically, if he were to say, order you to jump off the cliffs of your city, you would do it."

Neji was appalled "Wait! I don't want this! This is horrible, it is like slavery!"

Cassudina laughed "Oh, indeed!"

"This isn't funny!" Neji bellowed.

"Hyuga, don't bellow at the witch." Kankuro said. He then turned to Cassudina "You think I should go to this land to find answers, don't you Cassie."

"Yes, for some reason I believe that these wolves here might be exiles. Just a feeling I get from scrying about." Cassudina said.

"Alright." Kankuro nodded "Thank you Cassie."

"And if I were you, I would take a boat. Not a good idea to pass through the Land of Smoke, and the Land of Twisting Vines...yeah...."

Kankuro nodded. "Thank you for this, Cassie."

"Wait, you are going to do it, aren't you?" Neji asked "Just on her word?"

Cassudina glared at Neji, but Kankuro just smiled "I trust her, Hyuga."

"Really?"

"More then I trust anyone else."

Neji sighed. He did not like this idea at all. But...

"I'll come with you."

"Is that really necessary?" Kankuro growled.

"What happens when the moon rises, are you going to just hope that you don't go on a rampage?" Neji asked "It disgusts me to use it, but with this thing we can make sure you do not hurt anyone." _And, if it were not for my negligence, this might not have happened. I will not fail again._

"Well, I wish you both luck. I'd come with you, but I have things to do here." Cassudina grinned at Kankuro one last time and then turned back into a coyote. With a mocking yip the coyote dashed away.

Kankuro got up. "We need to do a few things in Suna first. I need someone to take care of my animals and workshop."

"And tell Gaara."

"No."

"What?"

"He'll try and stop me. He thinks way to much like a Leaf. Spent to much time hanging around Naruto. He needs to focus on the village, not me."

"You know, for someone who keeps talking about this, you don't follow your own rules." Neji pointed out "You are the one that got himself poisoned running after Gaara, right?"

"The Sand needs its Kazekage."

"Yeah, just keep telling yourself that." Neji muttered.

* * *

They were not actually sneaking, per say, but they were jumping from roof to roof at a fast pace. Kankuro did not want Gaara to know anything until he was long gone.

"Where are we going?" Neji asked.

"To see Sticks. He'll take care of my stuff when I am gone."

"Great." Neji muttered.

Sticks lived in a set of apartments on the north side of the town. Kankuro hung out the window and bellowed until he came, probably because Sticks had a tendency to booby trap his windows.

"Oh, bloody hell, mate." Sticks muttered when he spotted them "Do you remember what doors are for?"

"No time, Sticks, let me in." Kankuro said.

Sticks muttered and disabled the traps. "Waht is going on?"

"I have to take a little trip." Kankuro said "Hyuga and I are going west. I need you to watch out for my animals and take care of my workshop."

"What! No way!" Sticks looked shocked.

"Sorry, but the less you know the better."

"Kankuro, you can't! Werewolves aren't in the habit of helping people!"

Neji frowned "Kankuro didn't mention werewolves. And what makes you think that you know how they would react?"

Sticks muttered, but now Kankuro was giving him and odd look "You...you know about them, don't you Sticks?"

Sticks glared "I don't like talking about it."

"I can't believe I didn't see it before." Kankuro sneered.

"Wait, I missed something." Neji said.

"Sticks is not a native Sunaian. Not even from this area, in fact. You came from the west, didn't you Sticks."

"Yeah, I did." Sticks muttered "But I don't know that much about werewolves. Just rumors about them. I didn't think it would help so I didn't mention it."

Kankuro sighed "Dammit Sticks..."

"I left when I was a young child. I don't remember that much, only a few things." Sticks glared at Kankuro "This is going to be like the Sasori thing. You are going no matter what anyone says..."

"Damn straight."

"Oh, fine then. I'll take care of things while you are gone." Sticks said "And, I will tell you this, you remember-" and then Sticks started to speak in yet another language Neji did not understand. By this time he had managed to pick up the basic rhythm of the Iifernati language. This did not sound like the Iifernati language.

"Okay, what was that?" Neji had to ask.

"My homeland does not speak the same language as the one that supposedly the werewolves came from, but it was close enough that there should be at least a few people who know it. I taught Kankuro a bit of it, so at least you will not be going in there talking to foreign." Sticks started to root around the room "And something else you might find useful. Ah!" Sticks threw a bag at Kankuro, who caught it. It jingled a little.

Neji peered into it as Kankuro opened the bag. It had a bunch of small gold coins inside.

"So...how did you get from there to here?" Neji could not help but ask.

"I don't talk about that. All you need to know is that, from what I heard when I was a kid was that werewolves are never, ever to be trusted. Be on your guard at all times. In my old country they are associated with demons and black magic."

"Demons like Shukaku?" Kankuro asked.

"No. I didn't pay attention much, but I don't think they were like the One-tail." Sticks shrugged. "Like I said, be on your guard."

"I will, Sticks, you can count on me."

"Yeah, sure." it was clear that Sticks did not believe Kankuro.

Not even a little bit.

* * *

A few hours later found Sticks finishing up moving the animals from Kankuro's shack to the theater, where he could take care of them easier. Unfortunately, just as he was picking up Willy's container he felt a presence behind him.

"What are you doing, Sticks?"

"Ho boy." he muttered as he turned "Hello, Baki-sensei."

"Waht are you doing?"

"Kankuro asked me to do this." Sticks said.

"Why? Where is he? Where is the Leaf?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"That is what I want to know as well." From behind Baki, Gaara approached. Sticks groaned "Tell me where my brother is, now."

Sticks swore to himself.

"Now, that is an order from your Kazekage." Gaara said.

Sticks groaned. He had to obey. "He's gone."

"Gone where?" Gaara said calmly as possible.

"He is taking a ship to the west. The witch told him that if he went there he would find the answered there to his condition."

"And you did not come and tell me about this, why?" Gaara said.

"Kankuro pulled rank on me." Sticks lied. It was not true, but believable. Although he had been Kankuro's teacher the fact was that Kankuro was a jonin, and Sticks.

Sticks was a genin.

"You know, if you had ever gotten around to promoting me this might not have happened, Baki-sensei." Sticks could not help the barb.

"You know I am not responsible for the council blocking your promotions, Sticks." Baki said with a sigh.

"Just because I am Sasori's not one of you ever even tired to trust me. Only the puppeteers gave me any type of rank!" Sticks glared.

"I let you train Kankuro!"

"And you undermined me at every turn!"

"I undermined you! You kept undermining me! I tried to teach him discipline while you encouraged him to act a fool!"

"It's how puppeteers are! If you ever got you head out of your ass then you-"

"You are stalling, Sticks." Gaara glared at the puppeteer "Where has my brother gone?"

"Nukate. The port city. There are boats that go from here to the villages across the Western Sea. After that, I don't know what he plans." Sticks sighed.

Gaara nodded. "Baki, take care of the village. I am going after him."

Baki gave one last glare to Sticks, and left as did Gaara.

* * *

"Hey, Gaara! What is going on! You okay?"

Naruto. Gaara had headed straight from the shack to the eastern gates of Suna, intending to go after his brother.

"Kankuro has left the village. He is leaving the country entirely, in fact."

"What!" Naruto nearly spazzed out "Why? What happened?"

Gaara quickly explained.

After he was done, Naruto nodded "I'll come with you, Gaara. We will bring him back!"

Gaara could not help but be grateful to his friend. He knew that most Sand ninja would not approve of a man that went after his brother, leaving his village and his duties behind. But Naruto understood.

"We must hurry, they are several hours ahead of us."

Naruto nodded, and the two set out.

* * *

About ten miles outside of Suna, a lizard sat on a rock, basking and having as fine a time as a lizard can have. All of a sudden the earth rumbled and lizard leaped into a hole, just in time. Not two seconds later the treads of a large vehicle parked itself over where the lizard had been. It was a blocky, squeare like thing, with a huge gun in the front.

A tank.

The tank's hatch opened and a man emerged with a pair of binoculars. He peered through them.

"I still can't see the place." he muttered.

A radio on his belt squalled, and someone else spoke "It is supposed to be hidden, after all, but according to the map we are close. Just keep driving and we should hit the western gate."

"Right you are, Sarge." the man with the binoculars said "Shall we get going?"

"Affirmative."

The man ducked down, and the tank continued to roll along. Heading straight for the Village Hidden in the Sand.

Behind it, a long line of tanks and infantry followed.


	22. Chapter 22

An Author's Note: I am not a J.R.R. Tolkin.

That, if, of course, obvious. He was a great writer and pretty much brought into existence on of my favorite genres of fantasy. I would be a moron to think my pitiful efforts could ever top his.

He also created a language. I can't do that. I have kind of be trying to avoid doing that, because I have enough problems with my own language. However, it is becoming more and more awkward just saying people are saying something in another language instead of demonstrating it, and I am looking more and more like an ass. So, I am going to try and at least let you know what I am envisioning when I am writing this.

Here is the thing, in case you have not guessed. The shinobi are basically Japanese (even though this is a fantasy setting), so imagine them just sounding Japanesy. The Iifernati are kind of a combination of several things, and I have no idea what I am going to use as a base for their language. For some reason they want to sound Arabic in my head, even though they are not particularity Arab based, but just a mishmash of various stuff I threw in a pot. However, I do know that I want Stick's language to be something akin to Old English. And when I say Old English I do not mean Shakespeare. I mean Anglo-Saxon Beowulf style English. Look it up, you can't understand a single blasted thing. Now, I am not going to try to make direct translations, but just take words and twist em a bit to make em look new. I know, I am a hack. But hopefully you will have fun with it.

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Siblings Separated

Suna had only one port city, Nukate. While not as all consuming as in the Land of Water, sea trade was pretty important to Suna. Nukate was actually a stop off for foreign visitors heading to the Land of Water and for people going the other direction. Nukate was famous in Suna for being the place you went to if you wanted to find something rare and foreign. It also had a reputation amongst sailors for having evil taxes and even eviler restrictions. Despite the fact that it was a port the people of Suna rarely got into the water themselves, but this did not stop them from taking advantage of simple facts: it was a long way, ocean wise, from the Shinobi Lands to any other place that might be considered a port if you were coming or going west. These ships would need somewhere for the crews to dock, resupply and disembark to stretch their legs. However, since Suna really didn't have anything that even resembled a navy, Nukate had become famous for smuggling and other illegal practices.

None of this made Neji happy. It made Neji even less happy when Kankuro decided that he needed to find the absolutely seediest inn that Neji had ever seen. The place reeked of stale beer (Neji hoped it was beer), nasty greasy meat, and sheer unbridled B.O. What was worse was that he was pretty sure those women in the dark left corner were whores. And a few of them might not have been women...

Add that to the fact that Neji had had to break the fingers of several rather sticky fingered individuals...

Neji was not a happy man.

Kankuro had found a ship's captain there, Neji had to admit that. And now the two of them were babbling in what Neji now mentality called "Stick's language". Neji found it very irritating that Kankuro seemed to know so many languages while Neji just knew the one: the shinobi language.

Finally, Kankuro slide a coin over to the sailor, who made is disappear faster then snake gulping up a rat. He barked something at Kankuro and the Sand ninja nudged Neji.

"Move it, Hyuga, we are in a hurry."

"What, you mean right now?" Neji asked.

"Yep, right now. We'll be on the ship as soon as he," Kankuro nodded at the captain, who sneered "Leads us there."

"Why so fast?"

The captain growled in broken shinobi "We got skedual." Neji thought he meant 'Schedule'. "Go now or _hiowyrd_," Neji could not understand that word he just said, but he guessed it meant 'authorities' "Get us. You come you come now." the captain stood up and walked briskly towards the door, then he half turned to Kankuro "You accent ees terrible."

_So is yours._ Neji thought irritably. Out loud he said "Kankuro, did you just get us on board with a smuggler?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because, Hyuga, a smuggler is less likely to turn us in to Gaara, because he will not want to be caught by the guards either. That is why."

Neji sighed. He already knew that he was not going to like this. Unfortunately, there was no time to stop and think about it. Kankuro was already off and following the captain, and Neji had no choice but to follow Kankuro.

The ship itself was a surprising sight. Neji had heard rumors of nations that used motors instead of masts that used the wind, but this was the first boat he had seen that looked like it bridged the two. It's frame might once have been used as a traditional ship, but someone had covered the hull in a thin layer of steel. A pair of large motors were haphazardly attached to the back end (Neji was not used to sailor lingo) and large tubes snaked across the thing like veins. All in all it was a scary looking thing. Utterly horrifying in fact.

"_Noropuner_." the captain said. "Her name. _Noropuner_."

"_Laa, ees beetera_." Kankuro said.

Neji glared at him. "What?"

The captain laughed. "You go _yrfestol_ you teach your woman how to speak. No good _ees_ it."

Neji understood that "I'm not a woman!"

The captain leered "You look woman."

Neji was just about to show this guy a bit of pain when Kankuro's head turned to the north.

"Hyuga, could you Byakugan over there?" he pointed.

"Fine." Neji was not feeling inclined to help Kankuro at the moment, but he did. Through the ramshackle buildings he saw Naruto and Gaara. They had just reached the borders of the town.

"It's them." Neji said.

Kankuro nodded "Right, shall we discuss your gender later? Right now let us get on the nice ship, shall we?"

The captain sighed "No ees good. No good to piss off thane. What you do?"

Kankuro grinned and said something so fast that Neji could nor keep up with the individual words. Whatever he said made the captain laugh.

The three of them heading to the gangplank, and as soon as the captain of the ship was on board he started bellowing at his crew. Neji noticed that, while Kankuro did get on there fast enough, he also looked mildly green.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine Hyuga." Kankuro said.

"Kankuro! Neji! Come back!" it was Naruto. Maybe it was fate, or Naruto's usual dumb luck, but the boy had manged to go down the right street and found the right ship. Neji could look out over the dock and see him, pelting right for them. Gaara, looking a bit more flustered then he usually did, was right on his friends tail.

The captain took one look at Gaara and bellowed "_Nyboda! Nyboda!_" then "_Cleacain!_"

Kankuro turned and glared at the captain. "_Meea geboora ees nyu nyboda_. Don't call him that!"

"He no _nyboda _yet you run?" the captain shot back. Neji could tell hat Kankuro was furious, but he knew that he could not antagonize the captain who was going to be taking them across the sea. And indeed they were moving. In fact they were starting to pull out of the dock at a brisk pace.

"Kankuro! No!" now it was Gaara who was shouting. He had overtaken Naruto now.

"He will get us." Neji said.

"No, he can't." Kankuro said "Gaara can't swim and his sand is useless across the water. He knows it to." Kankuro was staring at is brother. Neji had never believed that he would ever see the proud Sand ninja cry. Yet, it looked like Kankuro was very close to crying. Neji could spot the wetness at the edges of Kankuro's eyes. He knew that, no matter how much Kankuro believed that this was his duty, this was also the hardest thing he had ever done.

With a cry Gaara skidded to a stop at the end of the pier. Face twisted in grief, Gaara extended his hand and his sand poured out, stretching out to Kankuro. Neji tensed.

But the ship was moving to fast. Far to fast. Even now Naruto and Gaara were becoming mere dots. The sand still came, but it was slowing and thinning out.

Finally it was nothing more then a single little trickle, just hanging in midair. It had managed to reach the end of Kankuro's nose, but was unable to go any further. As if in a dream, Kankuro reached out a hand and grasped the tiny amount of sand left and inhaled, as if he was trying to smell this last bit of the desert, and the last bit of his brother.

"I'm sorry." he muttered. But by now it was to late.

They were gone.

* * *

Shikamaru was looking down at Temari, who was sleeping in the hospital. The medical ninja thought that she would recover. She has lost blood, but the transfusions had been successful and her wounds were healing well. He knew that there was something going on with Kankuro, he had heard several people shouting his name over and over for the past few hours. However, Shikamaru was to busy fussing over Temari to care about the werewolf.

Rock Lee opened the door to the hospital room and looked around. "Is she alright?" he asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. Just a few minutes ago Kiba's team and come in to check as well. Shikamaru had ordered them to head back to the Leaf village. While Shikamaru himself did not want to move from Temari's side that did nto mean that he was not still a loyal Leaf ninja. The Hokage had to know about the upcoming war. What she would do about it...well for once in his life Shikamaru did nto want to anayle. All he wanted to do was sit here and watch Temari.

"What are you still doing here?" Shikamaru said "I thought all of you were going back?"

Lee shook his head. "I am waiting for Neji to return. I am concerned about him. Kankuro as well."

Shikamaru grunted.

"You know they have left?" Lee asked.

That got a response. "What?"

"They have left. Both of them. Gaara and Naruto have gone after them."

"What happened?"

Rock Lee explained. When he was done Shikamaru turned his eyes back to Temari. "She will be pissed when she wakes up."

Lee shrugged. "Are you alright?"

Shikamaru opened his mouth to talk when an explosion rocked the hospital. "What was that?"

Rock Lee rushed to the window. "I cannot see anything, but there are a lot of people panicking out there..."

Shikamaru joined him at the window. It was then that the things arrived. A strange looking paper thing that made a buzzing sound flew over them.

"What is that!?" Rock Lee asked in astonishment.

"It's not a bird, it's man made." Shikamaru said. Something fell from the flying thing, and for some reason even though it was artificial it did kind of remind Shikamaru of a pigeon doing what pigeons do...until the boom. "Whatever it is it drops exploding things."

More flying machines buzzed by, dropping bombs on the hospital. Now Shikamaru heard the strange r_at-tat-tat-tat _of guns firing, and more explosions. He also heard screaming. Some of it sounded like bellows of rage, but some of it was clearly cries of fear and pain.

That was when the big explosion came. Shikamaru did not know if came form the flying things or the ground, but it all of a sudden the building started to collapse on top of them. Shikamaru, thinking fast, grabbed Temari up and tried to run with her, Lee following. However, the roof was starting to fall on top of them. The part of his mind that was not screaming in horror was cooling telling him that there was no way they were going to make it.

"Duck!" Lee bellowed, and Shikamaru obeyed. A huge slab fell towards there heads, but Lee stood over them and literally caught the thing in his hands. He grunted in pain, but held the thing.

"Wow," Shikamaru said. He had to admire the strength of his fellow Leaf ninja. "How long can you hold that.

Lee grunted, legs trembling "I am not sure..."

* * *

"Where did they come from! Damn it, how are they advancing so fast!" Baki bellowed.

"Sir, their weapons! They are cutting us to pieces out there! They have vehicals that look like turtles with huge guns! They have flying things that drop bombs! They took us compleatly by suprise! We didn't even know they were out there until they started firing!"

Baki cursed again. It was just like the attack on Gaara! Only now the entire village was being torn apart! Baki smelled a rat. But right now-

"Sir, they are halfway to the Citadel! What do we do!"

The people. Baki's priority was to the people of the village. Not anything else. Pride, victory even the buildings. All took backseat to the people of Suna.

"Evacuate the city. Fall back to the desert. We can come back and take the stones back, but we can't resurrect dead bodies!"

The young chunin who had been reporting to Baki nodded and rushed out.

Baki snarled to himself as he raced down the halls of the Citadel, trying to get people moving. Thankfully, though the people were scared, they were all either ninjas or the family of ninja. They knew how to evacuate in an orderly fashion. As one they headed to the west entrance of the village, picking up whatever they could carry.

Even with the ninja covering their retreat, the treacherous weapons of the Smoke still found their mark, many times. Baki reached the entrance of the Suna's west gates and stood there, urging the refuges on. He looked up, just in time to see the strange bombs of the Smoke slam into the Citadel. At first it seemed like the building would hold strong, but then, whit a horrible grinding creak the top began to crumble. More missiles, and the Citadel exploded in a storm of dust and rock.

Baki stared, horrified. When he was barely a genin he had followed the Fourth Kazekage in storming that very same Citadel. He had rode beside the man as he bashed down the doors and marched into the council chambers, demanding that he be named Kazekage, as he had just proved himself the strongest ninja in Suna. At that time Baki had felt a thrill of victory and pride.

He had been very young.

Now, he was seeing that same place, that same building, being blown to pieces. It was strange and saddening at the same time.

In the distance he saw the soldiers of the Smoke walking towards them. Slowly, methodically, shooting anything that dared resist. What remained of his ninja were jumping towards him, retreating.

Retreating from their homes.

There was nothing to do about it.

"What do we do now?" One of the ninja asked as he watched the Smoke soldiers.

"Get them to safety, now." Baki said. The other ninja nodded and they started to get the refugees moving.

With one last sigh, Baki followed.

It did not occur to him to look for Temari until it was to late...


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

Exiled Sand

"Damn it." the general of the Smoke's army's name was Corvin, and he was feeling mighty irritated about now. He had been expecting to sweep up the Sand barbarians quickly and efficiently, taking everyone in the city. He had not expected the yellow bellied cowards to run like rats escaping a sinking ship.

"Sir," a lieutenant with a silver badge in the shape of a cannon, the symbol of the tank division, saluted General Corvin. "We have a bit of a problem, sir."

"What is it?"

"It's the tanks, sir. Seems like all of this wretched sand is gumming up the gears. We can move them, but it will damage them badly."

Corvin cursed again. "Never mind. We've broken the backbone of their military anyway. They won't be able to recover that quickly. Take some time to get the tanks back up and running. I want men on the walls of this place. Also, sweep the town for survivors. I want the first load out of here by nightfall. If the Lords don't get their Sand-barbs by next week they'll dock all of our pay."

The lieutenant hastened to obey. Corvin turned his attention to the ruined Suna Citidel. It was somewhat impressive, he had to admit. Certainly more interesting then filthy huts and muddy caves that the Empire had already conquered in the jungles to the south of them. The place these Sand-barbs called the Land of Twisting Vines held many perils, but the Imperial army had braved them all, and had brought enlightenment to the savages therein. It would be no different here. So what of the rumors of the so-called shinobi? Superstition had never stopped the Empire in the jungle, and it would not stop them here in Suna. Still, it was nice not to have to build everything from scratch. Suna's buildings were strange and barbaric ant hills, but they would do for now.

_I wonder if their king...or Kakazy or whatever he was called had a throne room? I will have to check._ Corvin loved to look at the primitive relics of the people he conquered. They were so...quaint. They would have to move some of the rocks, but once they place was cleared out the former Citadel might make a good administrative building. It would send a message to any of the natives that were allowed to remain in this anthill anyway. Remind them who was boss.

He knew it would take a while for the Sand-barbs to understand what had just happened. They were like children who had been allowed to run wild. They did not know what was good for them. After a while under the Emperor's rule they would see that they had been done a favor.

Soon the entire region would realize that.

For it would all belong to the Empire.

* * *

There was a crack in the walls of the hospital.

Shikamaru had been observing the happenings through that hole for a bit. He soon learned a few things.

The people of Suna were being rounded up and corralled like cattle. The few ninja amongst them were shot like animals. The rest were taken away. Shikamaru did not know if the poor citizenry were being tortured, but he knew that an€€yone with the Sand headband was being killed.

He also knew that the soldiers were looking for survivors.

"Okay, I have a plan."

"Good, because I am not sure how long I can hold this thing." Poor Rock Lee had been holding that thing for two solid hours. Shikamaru had to admire the guy. Maybe Guy-sensei's training was not as insane as he had always thought. Still, Lee had been driven from a standing position to his knees from the weight of the fallen ceiling. He was shaking, and looked exhausted. "What is your plan?"

"We are not going to get out of this, not without being captured by these goons. We have to let ourselves be taken. Get rid of your headband."

"What! Have you lost your mind!?"

"Listen, Lee, they are shooting every ninja they find out there. No questions ask. We are going to have to go along with it for the moment. Plus, if they take us we can find out their plans. Learn more about them. If I am given enough time I can probably not only escape, but also learn these Smokes weaknesses."

Lee grunted. "I do not like it, but I trust you. If you believe that this is necessary then I will do what you ask. Now...how I am going to act like a normal person if I am holding up a ceiling? I believe that any rescuer from the Smoke will notice that one of us is holding up an entire ceiling. Would that not alert them?"

Shikamaru stared a ceiling. "Try to move a little to the left." Lee shifted. "Now, try and lower that end. Slowly...slowly...there!."

In the end Shikamaru manged to get Lee to set down the ceiling so that the rubble made a small sheltered "tent".

"That is much better." Lee said as he rubbed his arms and moved his aching shoulders "Now what?"

"Give me you headband." Lee sighed and with a pained look gave Shikamaru the Leaf symbol he kept around his waist. Tears started to flow from the taijutsu master's cheeks. "You can get a new one, Lee." Shikamaru said in exasperation.

"But it was my first one! It represents so much! The nights and days I spent training under the wonderful Guy-sensei! Every mission! Every accomplishment! It has been there like an old friend, supporting me and lifting my spirits and-"

"Lee! I know how you feel! I don't like it either, but it is either this or a bullet! Think of it as undercover work!"

Lee sniffled and then brightened "Yes! You are right! And even though my symbol shall not be with me I will still be carrying the its spirit in my heart. Is that not right?"

"Yeah, sure." Shikamaru said. Lee had an odd way of looking at the world. True he was not happy with giving up the Leaf symbol either, but...

Shikamaru also removed the sand headband from Temari (who no doubt would kill him as soon as she woke up). After rooting around a bit Shikamaru found a nice drain and, with a pang of regret, stuffed the headbands in the drain. They fell with a plop.

Lee moaned, but said nothing. This was necessary. It still hurt, though. Shikamaru shed his jonin jacket, sliced it up with a kunai and stuffed the remains in the drain. Lee gave Shikamaru his jacket and the process was repeated.

"And now, Shikamaru?"

"Scream for help."

After a bit of hollering, they managed to attract the attention of a group of soldiers. Shikamaru could not help but be impressed by their efficiency. Within a few more hours they had been pulled from the wreckage. Then, promptly handcuffed and lead away. Shikamaru was not happy, but he was grateful they they seemed gentle enough with Temari, who was still out cold.

Soon they came to a row of trucks. Quickly the three ninja were loaded onto the truck. The trucks insides were divided into several pens and the people of Suna had been loaded into the cages. Shikamaru could hear several people weeping and crying to be let out. It was a racket.

One fo the Smoke soldiers barked at them and blasted his weapon into the air. The prisoners stopped screaming, but a few people still wept.

Shikamaru felt his skin crawl as one of the soldiers pushed him in to the last cage and shoved Lee and Temari in after him.

A few minutes later and the truck started to move.

Shikamaru could guessed where they were going.

The Land of Smoke.

* * *

As night fell the Sand exiles reached a well known osise, and Baki felt that it would be alright if they stopped for a bit. The people were tired, and it looked like the Smoke was not going to follow them.

Baki took a head count. As the ninja went there were twenty genin, some with senseis but most without, twelve genin and including himself five jonin. Oh, and one Leaf villager left, Sakura, who was busy healing the injured.

And none of them was Temari.

"Has anyone seen Temari?" he asked one of the jonin.

"No, Lord Baki...I...I think she was still in the hospital. With that Leaf ninja."

Baki grimaced. Shikamaru. Oh yes, Baki had noticed the looks that little rat faced runt had been giving his little girl. Baki could not help but think of Temari as a kind of daughter and Kankuro as almost a son. Baki had come from the Swooping Eagles himself, and felt a strong kinship with the two eldest Sand Siblings. With Gaara it was different. Baki respected and cared for Gaara, but never had felt paternal towards him. Gaara had never seemed to need it from Baki growing up. And now, a boy was prowling around his "daughter", and while Baki had not had the opportunity to give the hormone driven pest a piece of his mind, Baki knew that soon that time would come. Baki knew, intellectually, that Shikamaru was not that bad a man, but inside he just wanted to tear Shikamaru apart with his bare hands.

Now Temari only had Shikamaru to help her.

Baki hoped that Shikamaru really did care for Temari...

"Lord Baki, what do we do now?" it was the jonin. He looked confused, shaken, and very young. Baki tore his mind away from his musings. No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much he wanted to go back, he knew that right now he had to take care of the people of Suna. Kankuro and Temari would never have forgiven him if he did anything less. As much as he wanted to, he was no Guy. No Kakashi. He had to take care of the rest of them before the children that had become his family.

And he had to do it now.

"We need to get word to the Leaf village." he said. Out of all the shinobi nations, the Leafs were the most likely to accept exiles. And they had helped the Sand before. He thanked the gods that Suna had changed during the years. In the past their would have been no one, and the Sunaians would have no where to go.

"Lord, I managed to rescue some of the messenger hawks!" a chunin approached him with a ruffled looking Takamaru, the fastest messenger hawk in Suna. A few more of the well trained hawks hopped around the chunin's feet, each looking irritated and grouchy.

"Bring me the bird." Baki said. "And something to write with." No time to write down a code. The code nins had been in the Citadel. They were probably dead by now, or worse.

Baki did not bother to try code. Instead he wrote a detailed report, as well as a plea for aid. There was a risk to this, but it was one he had to take. He finished the report/beg for assistance and stuffed it into the bird's pack. "Leaf Village." he told the hawk, and Takamaru launched into the air, thankfully heading in the right direction.

Baki started to write another report, this one to the feudal lord. It was probably a good idea to warn the Lord that they were being attacked by foreign animals. The second bird was soon on its way.

Now, the next order of business. Gaara was out there, with no idea that the village had been taken over by the Smoke. Baki visually scanned the crowd of ninja and saw one that might be able to find Gaara. One that was trustworthy enough.

"Matsuri, come here."

The girl, no longer quite as shy as she had once been, still jerked a little bit when her name was called "Yes, Lord Baki?"

"The Kazekage went to Nukate to catch up with his brother, do you know the way there?" the genin nodded. "Go there and find them. Tell him to meet up with us at the border with the Leaf village. Make sure he does not reach the Sand village. Who knows what those foreign beasts might do if they catch him! Go now!"

Baki could tell the girl was horrified at the thought of her sensei at the hands of the Smoke. She was a pure city dweller, but still a ninja, and knew how to survive. After a moment to gather some water she set out to find Gaara and Naruto.

"Brother," the Swooping Eagle messenger, Ticael, approached Baki. They were a part of the same tribe, and while Baki had been a "city squatter" for some time he had not forgotten his origins "I should go and find the Eagles. Surly they will help us. This is an outrage against our tribe as well as your ninja."

Baki nodded. "Go to Jhimey and bring him to the border. May Hertok-rah guide your steps."

Ticael grinned, glad that this ninja had not forgotten his blood. Ticael found his horse and started to ride. He would find his tribe and bring them to their allies. No matter what.

Baki sighed. He would wait a while, then they had to get moving.

As soon as the moon had risen in the sky, the refugees began to move.

* * *

Neji soon learned something about Kankuro that almost made all of this worth it. After having to take all of Kankuro's smug comments in the desert, and the equally smug way he had flaunted his muti-lingual capabilities...well Neji was taking great and evil pleasure in Kankuro's misery.

Kankuro suffered from terrible, horrible almost crippling seasickness.

This was why, after they had reached deep water and the boat really started to pitch and wave, Kankuro had rushed to side and was violently ill. All of those poor fried lizards had their revenge on the way back up.

Neji had no trouble. None at all.

Kankuro made his opinion of this fact known by growling weakly at Neji.

Neji laughed at Kankuro for a bit, and was completely unsympathetic. Eventually, however, Neji had to stop laughing.

You see, they had to bunk together, and not even Neji was mean enough to laugh to long at the miserable Sand ninja moaning and groaning and holding his stomach through the first three nights.

By the third night Kankuro was getting better.

And, by the third night, Neji had an odd dream.

* * *

Neji found himself standing in the box seat of the Suna theater. Looking around in confusion he saw a young boy sitting one of the seats. Beside him was a blonde girl who looked bored out of her mind and a man that looked a bit like Kankuro and Gaara. The man was giving the stage a stern and disapproving look. The boy, on the other hand, looked enthralled.

Neji focused on the stage. There was a young actor giving a soliloquy. Something about following his father's footsteps and surpassing him. Neji heard the name Toshi mentioned, which jolted him a bit. The actor on the stage went on to say that the Sand needed a central leader like the Hokage, and if the Leafs had a Fire Shadow then the Sand should have a Wind Shadow. A Kazekage.

Neji could guess who this might be. The First Kazekage. The legend of the First Hokage was well known to the Leaf. Surly the story of the First Kazekage would be as revered in Suna. Neji did not really know that story, though.

_Awesome,_ the stray thought was not Neji's. It was the voice of a boy. _When I grow up I want to be like the First Kazekage! I want to follow in Father's footsteps and become just as great as him, like the First did!_

They boy gave the man that looked like Kankuro and Gaara an admiring look. The man did not even glance at the boy.

_Wait...this must be the Fourth Kazekage! Then...that boy...is it Kankuro?_ Neji examined the boy _Can't be, he's so...so...cute! And he looks so sweet and gentle! It can't be that brute Kankuro!_

But somehow, deep inside, Neji knew it was.

The dream became blurry, and now the scene had changed. The Kazekage and his children were walking down a street at night. Neji guessed that this was after the play.

"That was so cool!" the boy...Kankuro, was bouncing energetically. "It was so awesome!"

"It was boring, Kankuro." the girl, it must have been Temari, yawned. "Borrrrriiiiiiiing."

"It was great!" young Kankuro contradicted "the Puppet Corps are so great and-"

The Fourth turned suddenly and grabbed his son's ear and gave it a sharp yank.

"No!" the man raged "I did not take you there to have you idolize those cowardly little rats! I meant for you to see your history. The history of the Swooping Eagles! The First was the son of Toshi the Fatherless, a Swooping Eagle. You needed to know this, but that does not meant you should start admiring those filthy puppeteers! Or have you forgotten that the best of them was Sasori, a traitor! Is that who you admire, boy? Traitors to the Sand?"

Kankuro yelped as his father yanked his ear and started to cry. This only served to enrage the Fourth even further.

"And now you blubber at me! Do you think that would save you if I were your enemy? Stop acting like a jellyfish and at least pretend you are a man!" the Fourth turned away, clearly disgusted "A true Sand ninja does not show weakness, Kankuro. If you keep that up you will be dead before you are ten!" the Fourth stomped away, followed quickly by Temari.

Neji stared at the younger version of Kankuro with a stab of pity. He looked so small and helpless. Nothing like the proud and haughty Sand ninja Neji knew. Almost without thinking Neji started to step closer, perhaps to comfort the boy, and the scene began to blur again.

Now he was in a bedroom. Little Kankuro was in a bed, still crying. The door opened a crack, and Temari poked her head in.

"Kankuro. Oh, I am so sorry, Kankuro!" the girl rushed to her brother's side and hugged him. "It's okay. It's okay."

"No, he hates me!" Kankuro's voice broke. "And you!" Kankuro shoved his sister away. "Why do you never help me! You never even try!"

"Kankuro, you know I-"

"No! No! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you both!" Kankuro struggled, but Temari held on to him like a little leech.

"Kankuro, we are shinobi. We are the Sand! Even Baki has said it! We are not to show anything to the outside world but strength! Think about it, Kankuro, if Daddy acts weak people will try to kill him! Or they will try to kill us! He is doing this for us!" Temari hugged Kankuro close. "I know it hard, but if you are going to be a ninja you cannot show kindness or sorrow or fear. Just strength. Daddy loves us, but he just can't show us. He is the Kazekage, he must be the strongest."

Kankuro cried, and Temari held him. "I just want him to be proud of me!"

"I know, and he is. He is."

_I don't believe you._ The thought, one of Kankuro's, drifted into Neji's mind. _But if I show him how strong I can be he will have to love me!_

"What a horrible thing to teach a child..." Neji said to himself.

When he awoke, Neji felt like crap.

And Kankuro was not there.


	24. Chapter 24

An Author's Note: I have really only read the manga up till the point where Pain starts to attack Konoha. So, in this little "Wolfverse" I am going to be changing some things around. I did warn about this beforehand, but it bears reiterating. You will see why soon.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Leafy Refuge

Tsunade was getting more and more frustrated as the days passed.

First there had been the problem with the Akatsuki, and, according to the reports, the Uchiha kid. The brat had killed Orochimaru and joined the Akatsuki. Tsunade had been expecting to fight the Akatsuki and possibly the traitor. But then, a few months ago, the werewolf attacks began to happen. Once the attacks started all activity from the Akatsuki had ceased completely. She had been planning on sending Jiraiya to spy on them, but...

There was something weird about all of this. Why in the world would the Akatsuki stop all of their plans simply because a strange pack of wolf creatures were running around? Did the werewolves have some connection with the Tailed Beasts? From the rather terse reports from Cloud Village, the other remaining Jinchuriki that lived in their village had not been attacked or captured. For some reason the rather frantic attacks on the Tailed Beasts that had began with the attack on Gaara had now stopped completely. Tsunade didn't like this at all, it smelled like year old fish. Since they knew nothing about the werewolves, instead of spying on the Akatsuki Tsunade decided to send her old teammate to find out about werewolves.

So far Jiraiya had found nothing, which was ever more irritating.

But now Team 8 had returned from Suna. Tsunade had thought they would be bringing good news, perhaps even more information about their new enemies.

No such luck. Oh, the team had brought back good information, but they only seemed to raise more questions. Like, why in the world would Kankuro change into a werewolf only during the full moon, but apparently these other werewolves could do it whenever they damn well pleased? Why did they seem to have some sort of power over a Sand ninja who, from what Tsunade had observed, was completely and utterly loyal? And, of course, what did these werewolves want?

Worse, however, was the other news.

"The Madhor Empire." Tsunade shook her head. When everyone in the room gave her an odd look she smiled "It's what the Land of Smoke calls itself. I've been there, you know, back when I wasn't Hokage." Okay, she had been to their casinos, but still it counted. "They are an incredibly arrogant people. They consider us barbarians. All of us, not just Sand shinobi. I don't know that much about them, just a few things." Like the fact that their creditors would indeed try to break your legs if you didn't pay up.

"When we left it looked like they might be preparing to attack the Sand." Shino noted dryly. Of course, dry was really his only voice tone.

Tsunade nodded. This was just great. Werewolves and now this! Of course, if the Sand were to attack then they would have to help them. The Sand had been good allies to the Leaf these past few years. Tsunade attributed this not only to the fact that Gaara was the Kazekage, but the fact that his father was dead. Tsunade had meet the man on a few occasions, and he had always left an impression of extreme anger and aggression towards the Leaf, even when he was supposed to be their friend. It had not surprised Tsunade that he had plotted with Orochimaru.

But, even if the Fourth had still been the leader of the Sand, Tsunade was still have preferred them as neighbors as opposed to the Empire. The Empire had been a bad place, espically for two foreign women. She could still remember those factories and could recall the smell of the acrid smoke that gave the place its Shinobi name. Worse, she remember the people. How they had sneered and looked down on her and Shizune, and Tsunade had even gotten the idea that they did not really see the two as people at all. She also believed that the Empire did not even see many of their own as people...like that poor child.

Tsunade shoved that thought away. She was not going to think about that. She could not have borne going back there again, no matter how awesome the slots were.

Before she could give any more oders, a messanger from the bird room burst inside, a message clutched in his hand. "Lady Tsunade!"

"What is wrong?" she asked.

"The Sand has been attacked! Their Hidden Village has been taken over by forginers!"

"Oh no, the Smoke!" Hinata guessed.

Tsunade snatched the paper from the messenger. She saw with a chill that it was not a decoded copy, but an original document. That was bad. Ninja always coded messages, even simple meaningless ones. That an experienced ninja like Baki would not even bother to have the message coded...oh...that was the reason. She had reached the end of the message. Baki couldn't get it coded because according to this the entire remaining population of the Hidden Sand Village was running for its collective life.

Kiba was practically jumping around "We need to help them! They're our allies! Not to mention the fact that we have people in there!"

Tsunade looked at him. Sometimes the boy was just as bad as Naruto. "You are not going, you are exhausted. You need to take a break, now."

"But-"

"If I am reading this right then you will be needed sooner then I would like. Take a breather, but be ready."

Because they all might have to fight in a war.

Again.

* * *

Guy-sensei was intolerable.

It was not that Tenten did not like her sensei, that was not the problem. It was impossible not to like the man. However, now that Neji and Lee were gone Guy was focusing more on her. It was annoying. Guy was fine in small doses, but to much of him was driving his poor student up the wall. Most of the time Lee and Guy would focus on each other during training, egging each other on and almost competing with each other. Now, there was no Lee, and no Neij either.

But now, they had mission. All Tenten could think was "finally". She hated staying behind while Lee and Neji were in Suna.

She was surprised, though, when at the Konaha gates they meet not only Lady Tsunade, but Ino and Choji as well.

Great.

"Here is the situation. The Hidden Sand Village has been wiped out by their western neighbors, the Madhor Empire, also known as the Land of Smoke. You are to go to the border and make sure the refugees arrive safely to Konoha. Any questions?" Tsunade finished speaking.

"The others are going to be there, right?" Choji asked. He was concerned about Shikamaru. He knew very well how Shikamaru felt about Temari, even though the idiot shadow user had no idea himself of how he felt. Choji had been able to see it every time Temari had come to Konoha to help with the Chunin exams. The looks those two gave each other were frankly disgusting.

"I am sure they will be. You are just there to reinforce them. From what I understand the Empire has been manufacturing new weapons" Tenten's ears pricked at the mention of new weapons. She wondered if she would be able to get a hold of them "and from what I understand they are dangerous. Be cautious."

"Alright!" Guy pumped his fist into the air and grinned "Let's go rescue the Sand village! Again! No matter how new the weapons are they cannot stand against the power of Leaf's youth! Forward team!" Guy gave his new team members (who looked mildly poleaxed by Guy's...Guyness) his characteristic thumbs up pose, complete with teeth ping. Without a single look back Guy was off and running to the border with the Sand.

Tenten, who was used to this, followed. After a minute of looking at each other in a confused manner, Ino and Choji followed.

* * *

Baki sighed with something akin to relife when he saw the treeline. The border between Suna and Konoha. There were almost there. Once the civilians were safe he intended to take a team and come back to find Gaara and the others.

They were just about there when a cry when up.

"They are comign! They are behind us!"

Baki turned and squinted at the horizon behind them. Sure enough, the Smoke had manged to ungum the tanks, and had sent a squad after them.

"Damnit." he muttered. "Men! Forwards! Protect the civilans. You, Sakura wasn't it?" the girl, who had stuck with them all this time, came up with a worried look "You make sure they get to your villiage."

"But, I can't leave you!" Sakura said "They could kill you all!"

Baki gritted his teeth. "You are the only one who knows the way there, better then any of us. What are you going to do, leave them to die?"

Sakura glared at him. It went against everything she had been taught by Kakashi. He had always said that they were to protect and help their teammates. But, these were Sand ninja, more concerned with the mission then with their comrades.

"This is more then just a mission, girl." Baki said, as if reading Sakura's mind. "This is about the survival of an entire people! If you die with us here no one will be there to protect them! I does not matter if every ninja here dies, if they do not survive we might as well be dead already! There is no point in going on if there is no one left!"

Sakura wanted to argue, but there was no time. No time to think. She knew as well as Baki that the people of Suna would be lost in the forest. Heck, most of them had never even seen a tree before! They were looking at the place like it was the maw of a deep cave, milling around and giving it a distrustful look. To Sakura it looked beautiful. Green and welcoming, a relief to come back to after two months of sand sand and more sand. But to the refugees it was like a totally new world, and they did not trust it.

Baki was right.

And Sakura hated it.

She could hear the grinding of the Smokes tanks from here. With a sad glance back to the Sand ninja, who had arranged themselves in a line and where facing the tanks, she started to urge the civilians into the tree line. A few did not want to go, but they could see it was either that or the tanks. Between trees and tanks they were choosing tree.

She heard a bellow, a primal scream from a single voice. Baki. He was pretty convinced he was going to die. He had not used the Swooping Eagle battle cry in years. Now he used it, for what he thought was the last time.

Then he and the rest of the ninja charged.

The tanks fired as one, huge shells arched towards the ranks of ninja. Many of the ninja dodged, but a few were struck by the guns, one poor soul literally being smashed against the sand like a bug.

Baki closed his eyes and swiped with his Wind Blade. The wind attack sliced the armor of a tank, but did not seem to do much.

Another round was fired.

Baki could see one of the blasted things, heading right for him.

So, this was it then?

The shell arched towards him, a high speed metal of death.

Then, the sand rose up. A barrier of sand and wind leaped up from the ground and disrupted the the ammunition of the Smoke.

Baki stared...was it?

"Ha! I did it! Well, okay, we did it, but I helped right Gaara?"

"Yes."

Baki looked up, almost to relived for words. Yes, it was them. Gaara and Naruto, along with Matsuri. Baki expected to see Kankuro and Neji with them, but it was only those three.

Naruto and Gaara leaped forwards and stood between the Smoke's tanks and the ninja. Matsuri, who knew full well she was not going to be much help with only here with rope javelin versus several pounds of metal thrown at them at high speeds, went to help Baki up.

"Now, try to form the wind underneath the vehicles, Naruto." Gaara said calmly. "I will infuse the sand into your wind. It should make a nice sand tornado under them."

"Right!" Naruto was signing away, signs that Baki had seen before...

Well well, it looked like Gaara had been teaching again. Baki heard rumors that Naruto could use the wind, but he had not known what the hyper Leaf ninja could do with it.

Just as Gaara instructed, the wind began to pick up underneath the treads fo the tanks, then the devices hurled into a swirly vortex of sand and wind. With a mighty heave Naruto directed the tornado to fling the tanks to the ground, smashing them.

Unfortunately, the tanks were durable, and the people inside them were mostly fine. They burst from the tanks and began to shoot at the two ninja, filling the air with bullets. Working together, Gaara and Naruto deflected the attacks, but they seemed to have a lot of ammo.

Then, as if to echo Baki's early cry, the sound of many voices rose in the Swooping Eagle battle cry, and Iifernati warriors suddenly burst from the sands and attacked the Smoke's flanks. They had not been expecting a sneak attack, and the Iifernati were fast. Swords flashed as the Iifernati rushed through the Imperial soldiers, felling most of them in one mighty swoop.

"Are those who I think they are?" Gaara asked, looking puzzled.

Baki, now recovered from his near death experience, walked over to his student. He knew how much Gaara hated the thought of meeting his uncle. The scars from so many years ago were faded, but not gone.

"Gaara, that is our tribe, the Swooping Eagles....and a I think they brought the Bloodied Dragons with them...Gaara, you-"

"Ido know how to be diplomatic, Baki. Even to people I do not like."

"Gaara," Baki said softly "Jhimey is not Yashamaru or your father. He's different, don't turn him away just because-"

"I am not going to turn away anyone who gives aid to my people, no matter who they are. Even if I do not like them." Gaara did not even look at Baki. He was tense, upset. Not at all ready to meet his other uncle.

It was almost funny. Here, Gaara hated and dreaded seeing a man that was so different from the Fourth, just because they were related by blood. But, Gaara loved his brother and his sister, who were more like the Fourth then Jhimey or Gaara. Life was funny.

Baki hoped that in time, Gaara would be able to see Jhimey for who he was, not who he was related to.

Once again, the irony did not escape Baki.

* * *

Neji could feel something from the rune he now carried, if he concentrated hard enough. Confusion, irritation, and...sympathy? These were not his thoughts, not at all. But he had a feeling he knew where they came from.

He found the source of the runes odd emotions leaning over the side of the boat, staring at the black water. Kankuro did not look like he had been throwing up again, but he still looked mildly green.

"Come to have yourself another chuckle, Hyuga?"

"No, how are you doing?"

"Couldn't sleep. Really odd dream. Just came out here to breath the fresh air. It seems to help a bit with the nausea."

"A dream?" Now Neji felt a sense of dread. "Did it involve going to the theater with your father and sister when you were little and having him yell at you for admiring the actors?"

Kankuro whirled and faced Neji. "No, it was about you and your father. I watched him being tortured by your uncle when he shot your cousin a nasty look. How in the world did you see my past?"

"I suppose the same way you saw mine." Neji opened his hand and stared at the rune. "This thing, it must be that bond. It is somehow causing us to see the other's past in their dreams."

Kankuro snorted "That is going to be inconvenient." he sighed. "I can't think of what to do about it though..."

Neji looked out at the water. "Maybe it is not so bad. We are going to have to work together, and frankly we get along about as well as water and oil. Maybe if we understood each other-"

"I don't want you to understand me, Hyuga. I don't want to be your friend. Damn it, half the reason of going west was to prevent us from bonding, not encouraging it!"

"We may not have a choice!" Neji said. "You think I liked watching you being abused by your father?!"

"He never abused me! Not when I was little!" Kankuro snarled "And what about your sadist of an uncle!"

"He is not a sadist!" Neji bellowed. The rune heated up, felt hot. He winced a bit "Look, this is going to get us nowhere, fighting like this."

Kankuro sighed and looked up at the stars. "You got a point there.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Then, Neji could not help it anymore. He needed to break the silence. "Why did you become a puppet ninja if your father hated it so much?"

"I am good at it." Kankuro said with a grin "Why do you follow the people who made your family slaves?"

"We are not slaves, and they are my family, just like you have a family you care about." Neji said.

Kankuro grunted.

Neji could see that they were going nowhere with this. He turned to leave. "Kankuro," he anted to get one last thing in "we will never get anywhere if we are constantly fighting. I realize you don't want to be my subject, but being a friend is not the same as being a slave."

"I don't want to be your friend or your subject, Hyuga."

The man was as stubborn as a goat. Neji finally decided to give it up.

At least for tonight.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

Strange Company

Sakura was trying desperately not to think about the Suna ninjas that she had just left behind. She felt like the worst kind of ninja that Kakashi had always preached against: a ninja that abandoned her comrades. A coward. Worse then scum.

She was so busy trying to herd the Suna civilians, it was actually rather like herding cats in fact. They did not know how to run in a forest, and kept tripping over roots and things, and making the more noise then a herd of buffalo. Sakura had never heard anything so loud. They kept wandering off in odd directions, mostly because to their eyes everything looked the same. The leaves on the trees kept them from seeing the sun, which for many of them was the only way they had ever used to find out where they were. So, basically they were running every which way at first, and Sakura had to spend several minutes getting them to get on the path to Konoha.

And it did not help matters that her guilty, guilty mind was literally giving her a slideshow of the faces of the people she had lost. Poor Lee, who had always been so kind and bright and determined, left behind in Suna. Shikamaru, the calm leader, the man who looked so irreparably and goofyly in love when he looked at Temari, also trapped in Suna. Neji, gone with a werewolf to a unknown land with unknown dangers. And Naruto, the one that hurt the most. Naruto, who she was always so mean to, but who still for some strange reason seemed to love her. Naruto who was the most loyal person she had ever meet. Naruto had gone to find and bring back the brother of a friend without a second thought. What if he was caught or killed by the Smoke?

She had lost Sasuke to the darkness inside his personality. Now she might have lost Naruto to the kindness and generosity within his soul.

That hurt worst of all.

Her guilty musings were interrupted when she sensed a large amount of chakra heading towards them. It had to be Leaf ninja...

But what if it was not?

She had been running away from crazy technologically advanced maniacs with a desire to kill her for a while. She had just abandoned a group of ninja to die. She had just lost everyone important to her.

Sakura was sure that these people coming towards her were allies...but what if they were not?

It did not hurt to make sure.

"Halt! Get down." she ordered the refugees. A few of the smarter ones took cover in various bushes and behind logs. Most of them just kind of milled about.

For good sakes...

Sakura concentrated, ready to unleash on the large chakra heading towards her. She build up her power, ready in case it was something dangerous.

The bushes rustled, and something green and tall and incredibly loud bust into the clearing with a shout. Startled and ready for a fight, Sakura screamed and unleashed a chakra charged punch at the thing, with slammed into tree with a force of about Mach Two.

It was Guy.

"Oh...oops..." Sakura said.

The Suna refugees gaped at her in astonishment.

While Guy stumbled around for a bit, trying to get his head to stop pounding, the rest of his hastily formed team burst on the scene.

"Wow...remind me never to get her mad." Tenten muttered. She had never seen her sensei taken down quite that fast before. Okay, ever. "Sakura, what happened, where are Neji and Lee?"

"And Shikamaru?" Choji asked, looking around for his friend.

Sakura stared at her fellow ninja. She should have been relived. The Sunaians were safe now...

But the cost...

With a straggled cry she burst into tears and fell to the ground "Gone! They're all gone!"

The Leafs stared at her, astounded.

* * *

Baki thought that it would not be a good idea to just throw the Kazekage at his Iifernati relatives to quickly. The poor boy was looking decidedly annoyed, and Baki could read his moods enough to know that Gaara in this state was not inclined to be political. In fact, Gaara was not that political at all. That was what they had Temari and Kankuro for. Temari to handle the Shinobi nations and Kankuro to handle the tribes.

It was amazing how the two had complimented each other. Temari had never paid much attention to their Iifernati heritage. It was no that she was unaware of it, she just was emotionally detached from it. She knew the legends, but did not care about them. She knew the traditions, but dismissed them as superstition. Probably it was due to the attitude that many Iifernati had about women. Many of them, particularly the Shadow Owls, were still stick in a primitive state of mind that excluded women. Swooping Eagles, Serpents Teeth and Bloodied Dragons did not hold with that nonsense, but that did not stop Temari from being less then pleased towards Iifernati attitudes. Kankuro, on the other hand, practically absorbed his ancient heritage like a little sponge. He loved the stories and traditions and ways of his people. Not that Kankuro was a chauvinist, it was impossible for one to grow up with Temari and turn out chauvinistic. He had a healthy respect for kunoichi, brought on by the fact that Temari had a tendency to whack with her fan when Kankuro frustrated her.

This had actually developed in a useful way, with Kankuro being a kind of ambassador to the Iifernati and Temari taking care of modern day politics. The two had served as a nice buffer between their blunt brother and the shark filled mire that was politics. Now that buffer was gone, and Baki was scared. Gaara had the best interests of the Sand at heart, but years of using the "crush the enemy until he is dead" method had made Gaara less the subtle.

Baki was not to concerned about the Eagles. To their leader Gaara was family, and Baki knew Jhimey would make the Eagles follow Gaara even if the tribal leader had to prod them into doing it. Baki was not so sure about the Bloodied Dragons. Yes, it was true that the Dragons were allies, but there was a problem there. The Bloodied Dragons had been such good friends with the Swooping Eagles that the two tribes had actually been involved in the invasion of Konoha years ago. While there had not been to many casualties on the Leaf side, there had been a bit more on the Sand side. Worse, a few of the casualties were Iifernati, who had not been quite as prepared as they should have been when facing ninja.

And then there was the matter of the girl, but Baki was not going to think about that. It was true that technically the Bloodied Dragons did not believe in vengeance, but still...

So, Baki made sure that he was the one that approached the Iifernati first. Swooping Eagles and Bloodied Dragons were standing side by side, but Baki could tell the difference. He had not been away so long to forget the basics.

Baki walked over to the two tribal leaders, who were standign there looking rather smug. Jhimey noticed him and grinned like a wolf.

"Hail Baki! I have not seen you for a long time! How are you?" Jhimey said.

"Hail, Huur Jhimey." Baki bowed at the man who was just as much his leader as Gaara, using the Iifernati word for a tribal leader. He then turned to the other man, the Bloodied Dragon leader and bowed again "Huur Iren of the Blooded Dragons, thank for your aid to my tribe and my ninja brothers."

Iren smiled "These Smoke bastards are no friends of the Sand, and the Dragons have always been friends of the Eagles. That will not change as long as I live."

"And...Maira?" Baki was hesitant to ask, but the girl had been a kunochi under his command, and what happened to her had partly been his fault. He had been in overall comand of the Sand side of the invasion, after all. Maira had not been his student, but she had been his subordinte.

"Maira is a Dragon, and no Dragon bears a grudge to anyone, you know that Baki." Iren said with mild look. "And besides, she convinced me to come herself. You know that she is my second now, correct?"

Baki was surprised. "Your second? But she-"

"Is brave and intelligent, despite what happened. The tribe agrees, no one would be better to take my place but her." Iren tapped his left leg. "Nothing holds that girl or her brother Arch down, Baki! I think that, as a ninja your kind helped her spirit. I owe you for that."

Baki smiled "Thank you for that. Are you coming with us to Konoha?"

"We have both decided, we are coming. Our tribes will stand with your ninja, and if we stand we stand all the way." Jhimey said.

By this time Gaara had gained control of his ruffled emotions and had obtianed the facial expressions of a clear lake. The fact that he was raging inside to see an uncle of his could not be seen on his face.

Gaara walked over and bowed to the two Iifernati leaders "Thank you, you have my gratitude for coming to the aid of my people."

Iren bowed as well, but Jhimey gave Gaara a slightly surprised look. Even amongst leaders this was not the way an Iifernati nephew greeted his uncle. Not at all. Iifernati were not formal when it came to family, and even the stuffiest of Shadow Owls would have understood a friendly encounter between family even in the most strict of political settings. This was just...odd. But, Jhimey remembered that the boy had spend all of his youth with city squatters. He just did not know better. This was not his fault.

Jhimey looked around, there was something else wrong here "Where are Kankuro and Temari?" it had been to long since he had seen Temari.

At the mention of his siblings Gaara's spine grew even stiffer.

Baki sighed. "Kankuro and Temari are gone. Kankuro left the country and Temari was left in the village."

Gaara stared at Baki "What happened to her?"

Baki explained. Only a friend who knew Gaara could have seen the grief and pain flickering in his eyes as he was told that his siblings were gone.

Jhimey, however, was not as composed as Gaara. He actually sat down on the sand like he had been punched, tears in his eyes.

Gaara noticed this, unable to understand. He did not know why this strange other uncle was doing this. Was this some kind of trick? Gaara wanted to believe that Jhimey was honest, but even though Jhimey did not look like Yasamaru every time Gaara looked at him he heard that voice telling him to please die. Saw that bloody and mournful face.

Gaara could not help but wonder if he would have to kill another uncle soon.

But then, as he often did, Naruto came to turn the awkward silence into...well more awkwardness, but less silence.

"Hey, who are you people anyway? And where did Sakura go?"

Baki was glad that at least he could give some good news. "I told her to escort the rest of the civilians to your village, where I sincerely hope that the Hokage will not turn them away."

Naruto snorted.. "Aww, if I know Grandma she'll welcome them!"

Jhimey stared at Naruto. "Who in the blasted hell are you?"

"Hey, that's what I asked you! As for me, I'm Naruto Uzamaki! The next Hokage!"

Iren muttered to Baki "He's the Leaf leader's second?"

Baki groaned "He might as well be."

Naruto, however, was continuing "Why are you on the ground! It's sandy down there!"

Jhimey looked at the bizarre ninja in front of him in puzzlement. To his experience ninja were calm and reserved, not bouncy and loud. "I'm mourning my niece and nephew, you clod!" he bellowed, way to emotional to check his words.

_Oh boy_. Baki thought. _The leader of an Iifernati tribe just called the future Hokage a clod. This is going to be an...interesting time._

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the forest, Ino and Tenten, the only female ninja in range, had descended upon Sakura and where trying to comfort her. Guy was rubbing the huge lump on his head. Choji was standing there, wondering what to do. The refugees just stared at them, wondering what in the world was with these bizarre Leaf people, and did all of them act like this?

A familiar bouncy chakra started to...bounce towards them, and all of a sudden Naruto was there, followed by the remaining Sand ninja and the Iifernati, who were having a devil of a time getting their horses through the brush.

"Hey! Sakura! What happened? Are you okay?"

Sakura stared at him. He was alive! Alive!

The jerk! He scared her to death!

Sakura grabbed him by the neck and started to throttle the boy who, just minutes before, she was mourning.

"YOU! YOU! BLOCKHEAD! WHAT WERE YOU DOING RUNNING OFF LIKE THAT WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT! DO YOU RELIZE HOW SCARED I WAS!"

"Ow! Ow! Sorry! Sorry! Let go, Sakura!"

"Ah, young love." Katsu said with a grin "Reminds me of our wedding night, eh husband?"

"Only without the pliers." Jhimey nodded.

"...pliers?" Gaara muttered at Maro, whom was the closet to him who knew his relatives.

"Don't ask." Maro muttered back.

"Oh, don't worry so, Gaara." Jhimey grinned at his nephew. "Remember, all you have to do make up with your wife is to just stick your-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Katsu pulled her husband's ear. "There are children about. Don't corrupt them."

Gaara started to edge away from the two lunatics. He ended up beside Baki.

"Are you sure I was not adopted?" he muttered at his old teacher.

"I am sure Gaara."

"Were they?"

"No."

"Damn it." the only conclusion that Gaara could draw was that his relatives were completely and utterly insane.

Meanwhile, Guy had reajusted his head and was approaching them. Great, now Gaara would have to tell another person that his loves ones were gone.

Guy, of course, begain by askign the million dollar question, were where his students?

"I am sorry, Guy." Gaara said "I assigned Neji to guard my brother, and when Knakuro left to find a solution for his werewolf condition Neji went with him."

Guy stared at Gaara, then burst into what he belvied were manly tears "Neji! Brave, brave boy! He was always one for duty! No, I am not surprised that he would go to protect your brother!"

Gaara sighed. This was not making this any easier. "Lee was left in Suna, with Shikamaru and Temari."

To this news Guys tears changed from proud to just plain pathetic. He started to moan and cry aobut his youthful boys and other such things that frankly made poor Gaara's ears hurt.

Unfortunaly, everyone heard them, including Tenten and Ino. Tenten's face grew pale. "Neji and Lee are really gone?" she asked in a whisper. No, it could not be! Lee and Neji were the strongest people that Tenten knew! Surly they could not be gone. Instinctively knowing her sensei, Tenten gave Guy a gentle hug and patted his back "There there, sensei, you know that Lee and Neji will be alright!"

While Tenten was comforting Guy, Ino was going into a rage. "Why that little bimbo!" she was talking about Temari "That little four pony tailed bitch! Who does she think she is, taking Shikamaru away like that!"

_I thought she liked Sasuke._ Sakura thought.

In truth Ino did not really know who she liked. She had been infatuated with Sasuke, as had every female in the village. But, she had been a part of Shikamaru's team for a long time. And, she just plain did not like Temari that much. She found herself getting unintentionally angry with the women every time she saw Temari, ever since the mission when it became obvious how well Temari and Shikamaru worked together. Ino knew that Shikamaru only saw her as a friend, and for some reason that hurt.

However, her rant did not get to far, for Katsu had heard her. With a strange growl the Horse Mistress moved forwards and pinned Ino to a tree. Katsu's eyes, already very Hyugaish, had explained to the Byakugan sight, and the veins on the sides of her eyes had swelled, just like Neji's and Hinata's when they used their bloodline limit.

"Do not insult my niece in my hearing, girly." Katsu said in a pissed off tone "You hear me?"

Normally, Ino would have gladly gotten into a fight, but Gaara stepped in and placed a hand on his aunt's and spoke gently.

"Let's not get into a fight. We are all on the same side, and we need to work together. I don't like what she said about Temari either, but that does not mean we should pick fights."

Katsu growled. "Hmmp, very well." to Gaara's surprise, the strange woman let go of Ino and walked away, as if nothing had happened. Her eyes returned to normal.

Guy had noticed the eye thing, he ahd just about finished this round of mourning his students at this point, and turned to Katsu "You have the Byakugan?"

"Nope, not in the least." Katsu said with a grin.

"but I just saw your eyes." Guy replied.

"Oh, yes. Well, that is a long story." Katsu shrugged. "Our ancestor, Toshi, was a branch Hyuga. He fled to the Sand after his child was murdered by the main ones. He had children of the Swooping Eagles, but he could never teach them how to use their bloodline. He died before eh could try, and the secrets of course are supposed to be eliminated after death because of that cursed seal. With no one to teach us my line had never learned how to use the eyes."

"I see, that is a shame." Guy said. "But I am sure that you can learn it once we get to Konoha! The Hyuga there-"

Katsu laughed like a crazy woman. "I am sooooo sure the mains will want to give their most treasured secretes to their free cousins! I would sooner expect the sun eagle to fly down and give me his golden nectar!"

Baki sighed and looked up at the sky. He could barely see the sun through the branches, but he knew that it was getting late "We should probably get going." _before something else happens. _He thought.

And so, with no more interesting conversations, the refugees were on their way again.

To an unsuspecting Konoha.

Poor, poor Konoha.


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter Twenty-Six

Culture Clash

By the time the refugees arrived at the gates of Konoha, Tsunade had come up with several different options for housing for the displaced people. Konoha had never really faced a crisis quite like this before. Sure they had housed refugees and runaways before, but never on this scale. She wanted to avoid erecting a camp inside or outside the gates, mainly because there just were not that many unused tents in the village, and the fact that she did not want the refugees to say here long. It was not that she was unwelcoming, but she did not want the Sand people to start growing roots here. There were a few in the Konoha council who did not like the idea of a horde of Sand ninja and civilians deciding upon the village for any length of time, and did not want the refugees to get any funny ideas about staying.

Had they known of the Iifernati they would have had fits.

Fortunately, Tsunade came up with a way to ensure that the refugees would be reasonably comfortable, but also a way so that they would not set up a new shanty town in the middle of the Land of Fire. She had literally been obliged to ask the various ninja clans if they would help house the refugees. The response had ranged from welcoming to rather frosty, depending on how snooty the clan in question was.

By now the sun was setting, and looking out her window Tsunade could see a group of people at the gates.

They were here…greeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaat.

About five minutes later Shizune appeared at the doorway, looking rather frustrated.

"We have an issue Lady Tsunade."

"What issue?" Tsunade snapped. She had been dealing with irritated clans all morning, and was not in the mood for "issues".

"Some of them are not coming in. They are not ninja but I don't think they are civilians either. They call themselves Iifernati." Shizune snorted. She had heard rumors about the Sand barbarians when she traveled with Tsunade, but had discounted them.

Tsunade, who had heard the exact same rumors and treated them with even more scorn, let out a laugh. "Really? And do they have flying horses? Are they turning into wild dogs? Come on, Shizune, you know all those stories about Sand barbarians are just that, stories."

Shizune sighed, "Regardless, there is a huge group of them that refuse to come in. Their leader says he want to talk to you, Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade sighed. It was going to be a long night. She could tell that she was going to need sake by the end of it.

Gaara stared at his uncle with the expression of one who has found himself the only sane person in the loony bin.

The refugees and the ninja had gone into Konoha without a peep, but the Iifernati were being stubborn. Jhimey had for some reason refused to allow his people in the village, and Iren was equally adamant. They said there was some sort of ritual that needed to be preformed. Gaara had no idea what the two tribal leaders wanted, but he had a bad feeling about it.

Gaara knew that his attitudes towards the Iifernati were a bit unreasonable, but that did not stop him from being suspicious of their motives.

"Okay, what is the holdup here?" The Hokage strode towards them, looking rather thunderous. Gaara mentally winced, as he did every time the woman made an appearance. Tsunade intimidated him just a little bit. He did not show it, but there is was.

"Ah! Finally." Jhimey said with a grin "You the leader here?"

"I am. What are you doing just standing here? And…what are you riding?"

"This? He's Moraagan, my horse." Jhimey patted the dark brown stallion with affection. The horse bent his head and nibble on Jhimey's foot, leaving a bit of horse drool behind. Tsunade sniffed in disgust.

Jhimey drew a dagger.

Immediately the Leaf ninja tensed. Gaara, fearing an attack, stepped in between his obviously mad uncle (like he had ever had any other type of uncle!) and the Leaf village's Hokage.

Jhimey gave his nephew a sad look. He knew that the boy was not fond of him, but did is dislike really extend this far?

With a sigh Jhimey said something in a strangely musical tone, almost like a chant. He gripped the blade by the sharp pointy end and made a few intricate signs in the air above his head. Tsunade thought the entire presentation was rather ridiculous and the man looked like a fool.

Then he gripped the hilt of the blade and yanked hard, slicing his own hand. As the blood dripped on the ground Jhimey intoned a few more words, and then sheathed the dagger.

A long silence, then Tsunade said "What the hell was that?"

Jhimey kept grinning; it was quite unnerving "That, Lady Hokage, is a guarantee. In the old days Iifernati were not so…diplomatic to city dwellers. Many tribes, especially the Grinning Jackals, would make a habit of riding into a town and sacking the place. Often they would stay there for days, making quiet the nuisance of themselves. This is an old ritual used for when a tribe wanted to go into a village or town, peacefully. It basically means that we promise not to just ride in here, take your stuff, pillage your homes, defile your women-"

"Or your men." Katsu was also grinning.

Jhimey nodded "Or your men, or eat your children for that matter." He was still grinning.

A long silence, then "You eat children?" That came from Naruto.

"Nope, but these rumors do get started." Jhimey said, not mentioning which of the aforementioned actions were rumors or facts.

Tsunade sighed. "Okay, you done now? Good, now get in here before I have to drag you." She was really starting to lose her patience.

So, after the Eagles went in, and the Bloodied Dragon's leader stood right there and started to do the same thing…

Let's just say it was the fastest application of the ritual ever preformed.

* * *

Although the Hyugas were considered by many to be a cold and unfeeling clan, Hiashi Hyuga had not been totally against the idea of letting a few of the Sand refugees into his compound. It was, after all, rather large. Plus, while he was not as abjectly loud about it as some, Hiashi had found himself mostly supporting Tsunade. Perhaps this was due to the fact that two of his family, his daughter and his nephew, were members of what the Leaf village were starting to call the "Konoha 11". He had seen that, through their interactions with these people his daughter had become more confident, and his nephew less angry and vengeful. Obviously the principles of peace and diplomacy, not to mention the camaraderie between ninja that this faction seemed to favor, worked well and got results. So, in an effort to show that the oldest and perhaps most influential of the clans was behind Tsunade's decision to support the Sand, Hiashi had agreed to let a few of the homeless in. Besides, a little charity never hurt one's public relations. The fact that Tsunade had pulled a string and arrange it so that it was the Kazekage's family itself that would room with the Hyugas had pleased the Hyuga and placated the elders of the clan who were not so keen on this idea. Despite his lack of bloodlines (that the clans would recognize) Gaara was still an important political figure.

Of course, when Hiashi had been told that they would house "the Kazekage and his family" he had assumed that would mean Gaara, Kankuro and Temari. He was unaware of the absence of the two elder Sand Siblings. He was also unaware of the Iifernati.

Both he and Gaara were unaware of the fact that the Swooping Eagles interpreted "the Kazekage and his family" as "the entire Swooping Eagle tribe." The Iifernati pretty much thought of the tribe as family, and they did not seem to think that anyone would object to the idea of the entire tribe literally galloping in to the Hyuga compound and setting up a large communal tent in the middle of the rather large and pretty garden.

Hiashi was also were very shocked to find that the Iifernati would take one look at the decretive koi in the pond and decide that here was free food and then start a fish fry.

"Those are not to be eaten!" He bellowed at Reem, who had caught a rather fat golden one and was grilling the thing over an open fire he had somehow started. The fact that it smelled good did not help.

"Is it poisonous then?" Reem looked mildly alarmed.

"No! It's a koi!"

"Why not eat it then? It's a funny color but it smells good enough. Would you like some?"

"It's used for decoration!"

Reem stared at him "You decorate with food?" He had heard that city squatters were gluttonous but this?

"It is supposed to symbolize love and friendship and you are _frying_ it!"

"Actually, I am grilling it." Reem stated, trying to be calm around the obviously crazy man "And a fish is a fish to me. I am sorry if I upset you, but I can't very well put it back. It is dead now. Can't be helped. Might as well eat it. I promise not to catch any more."

By the time that the horses found the 500 year old bonsai tree and started to munch on it, Hiashi was about to have a heart attack.

* * *

The Aburame clan was also having issues with their group of refugees, though of a different kind.

There were only five of them, all ninja. Two were older and the other three were children, most likely genin. The problem became apparent the moment they entered the clan's compound. At once the one in the lead, a fellow with rather large eyes and ears, stopped dead in his tracks and said "Oh…shit…"

"Is there a problem?" Shibi Aburame, Shino's father, knew that many people were wary of a clan that used bugs. He got the same "creepy" comments that his son got. It did not bother him after so long, though he really did not like the slightly scared look the lead Sand ninja was giving him.

"You are bug users, right?"

"Again, do you have a problem with that?" Shino asked, in a tone that his father knew meant that his son was well on his way to holding one of his grudges aginst this Sand ninja.

That would be bad, they had to at least try to get along with these people for a time.

"Well, you see…we…er." At that point a furry little head poked out of the man's sleeve. A head with large ears and a little leaf shaped nose.

A bat.

More of the flying mammals appeared over the rest of them, poking their heads out of various articles of clothing and sniffing about. A few started to lick their little lips.

"We are bat handlers…they…eat bugs."

One of the bats was giving Shino a rather hungry look.

Yes, this was…bad.

* * *

On the other hand, Kiba's family was almost having a reunion. They had been assigned a family of dog ninja. After some territoral snarling it was now all happy wags and butt sniffing. Only, they weren't really all dog.

"So, what? They are all half coyote?" Kiba examined the puppies in the basket the family had brought along with them. They were cute, as pups usually are. Only, you could tell that they were not all dog. They were all mostly tan colored with sharp ears and muzzles. And they smelled a bit funny.

"Yep, the ones in that other basket are part jackal." While their human did not really talk much the two nin dogs that accompanied her (actually a coydog and a jackdog), loved to talk.

Kiba could not tell the difference, but that was alright. They were adorable puppies.

If only they would stop trying to attack poor Akamaru's tail…

* * *

Meanwhile, on the road to the Imperial city in the caged vehicle, Temari was stirring.

Shikamaru knew that she was going to be pissed when she woke up. She was just like his mom, stubborn and scary and mostly homicidal. Shikamaru had heard long ago that men tended to fall in love with women like their mothers. He had sworn not to let that happen to him. Turns out fate, or more than likely hormones, had other plans.

Temari opened her eyes, looked around and glared up at him "Where the hell are we."

Shikamaru explained as best he could. For a second Temari looked scared. She was nto scared of the ide of dying at the hands of the Smoke nutcases. She was scared for a different reason.

"Kankuro left! The fool! The moron!" she bellowed in rage.

Shikamaru snorted. Temari glared at him "What?" she growled.

"He hurt you. Let him go. He's-"

Temari slapped him.

Shikamaru glared at her "He's dangerous. It's good that he's gone. I'm glad he is."

"Don't you get it, moron! He was not at fault! He was under that thing's control."

"He still hurt you."

"Damn it, Nara!" Temari was still glaring at him. "You know nothing about Kankuro! You leave him alone!"

Shikamaru could not believe this. This was just plain stupid. "Fine then." He snarled and went to the other end of the cage. Temari turned her back towards him.

They did not speak for a long time.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Hatred

It was happening again.

Neji once again found himself in the middle of Suna, this time in what looked like training grounds in the Kazekage's citadel.

Neji sighed. He really didn't want to see any more of Kankuro's shitty childhood. He had enough trauma from his own shitty childhood.

He looked at the scene in front of him. Kankuro was about a year older then he had been in the last little scene. Kankuro was lounging on a bench that ran along the side of the house. Temari, on the other hand, was looking at least somewhat attentive. Baki was standing above them, looking rather stern. But then, from what little contact Neji had with the man, Baki always seemed to be stern.

"Now, again." Baki said, "Name the other four Great Shinobi nations?"

Temari was practically bouncing, but as she started to speak Baki held up his hand "I know you know them backwards and forwards, Temari. Let your brother answer."

Kankuro gave him an indolent look "Earth, Lightning, Water and Fire." He yawned.

Baki gritted his teeth. Neji could see why the man was a bit peeved. It was a right answer, but so oversimplified. It sounded like Kankuro did not really care.

"Kankuro, if you will not even attempt to give me a complete answer I am going to leave you out in the desert again, this time even further away."

Kankuro grumbled and glared at his trainer "What does it matter? They are not Sand and they are not Iifernati. Why should I care about a bunch of foreigners? They mean nothing. Dad says so."

"Oh don't be an idiot." Temari said as she gave him a little whack on the head.

"Well, it is true, isn't it?"

"To a certain extent." Baki said stiffly. "We of the Sand are strong, and you should never forget that your loyalties lie towards us. This does not mean that you should ignore the ways of the other nations, especially if they become our enemies. It is best to know as much as you can about a foe."

Temari frowned. "I thought there was a truce."

"Truces do not last." Neji turned and saw the Fourth Kazekage standing in a nearby doorway. He was looking at his children strangely; Neji thought it looked more the gaze of a man sizing up an arsenal more than the look of a father.

"Temari, you must remember this. Everything changes. We may be at peace," Neji noticed that the man's jaw tensed at the mention of peace, as if it were a foul word. "But at any time the other nations might attack us."

"Especially the Leaf, right Father?" then the boy shot a look at Baki that clearly stated _See? I can learn._

"Correct." The Kazekage's expression did not change, even though Neji thought that a blind man would have been able to see the yearning in boy's face as he seemed to plead for attention and approval. "The Leafs assassinated the First Kazekage. They attacked us, unprovoked, during the Second Great Shinobi war. One of their own helped the traitor Sasori get away. You can never trust a Leaf. They are sneaky, greedy, and arrogant, all of them. They would replace our traditions with their own. Remember how last month their 'ambassador' suggested that we start an academy like theirs? Complete nonsense!"

"But Daddy…" Temari started, looking pained.

"But nothing! The Leafs are the enemy! They will always be our enemies" the Kazekage said.

"Right." Kankuro practically jumped, still trying to get his father to at least look at him.

The Kazekage went on and on, telling his children about the horrors of the Leaf Village. Neji realized what this man was doing; he was teaching his children how to hate the Leaf Village. And Kankuro, who wanted so badly to please his father, was buying into it completely and utterly. Neji wondered how many times the Kazekage told his son and daughter these things. How long did it take for them to believe everything their father told them? Not long, probably. Children believed what their parents told them. Kankuro seemed to be absorbing this like a sponge. His yearning to please his father would have made him believe anything.

Was this what had made Kankuro so foul tempered and aggressive? Had his father pushed him to become as mean and nasty as he could be? Neji thought that it was possible.

And what about Gaara? He never seemed to feature in the memories so far. So far there had only be two, but Neji thought that if you lived with a boy that was basically a serial killer then wouldn't he dominate the scene a little bit?

After a few more words the Kazekage nodded to Baki and left the yard, and it seemed he was finished spreading his poison amongst his children. As he left Neji could not help but notice that Baki was giving his leader the strangest look, as if he did not fully approve of what the man was doing to his offspring.

As soon as the Fourth was gone Baki turned his attention back to the two siblings. "Enough babbling for today! Get up and let's start training."

Kankuro leaped to his feet with an eager grin. Temari smirked and jumped as well, just as excited.

"Temari, let's see you summon it." Baki said.

Temari nodded and started a summoning jutsu. Neji was a little surprised. A young girl of Temari's age would never have been allowed to use a summoning so young if she had been in the Leaf's ninja academy. However, Temari actually accomplished it.

Neji had heard from Shikamaru that she could summon a weasel, but the one that Shikamaru described had been white and had only one eye. The one that little Temari of the past could manage to summon was a small little fluffy brown thing. It could not have taken much chakra to summon and Neji doubted it was able to fight that much.

"Alright," Baki pulled out a ball from somewhere and threw it at Kankuro "you know what to do."

For the next few minutes the siblings seemed to play a kind of keep away with the little wind weasel, who while it might have lacked power was certainly fast and agile. At first it looked like a mere game, but Neji could see that this was not only providing exorcise and fun for the siblings, but it also developed their capacity to work together as they tried to keep the ball away from the weasel.

At one point Kankuro did something unexpected. He flicked out a finger and, in order to keep the ball away from the weasel, caught it with a chakra string. It did not last long enough to pull it towards him, but it did change the way the ball bounced.

Baki bellowed "Halt!"

Kankuro cringed a bit.

"Kankuro, you have been watching the puppeteers again, haven't you?" Baki asked.

Kankuro glared at the dirt and scuffed his foot against the ground "Well…"

"You know your father does not approve." Baki said.

"Yeah, I know." Kankuro said. "But, Baki, I want..."

Baki looked at the boy searchingly "Yes?"

"Never mind." Kankuro sighed.

Neji could feel it in his mind, though. The boy had a deep and powerful yearning, almost as powerful as his need to please his father.

Neji sighed. He could tell that this line of memories was not going to end well at all.

* * *

Neji was not the only one struggling with the memories of another. Kankuro was also asleep, and he was dreaming as well.

He was deep in the forest near the Leaf Village. There was a boy standing in the middle of the clearing, head down, eyes closed, forehead creased in concentration. Slowly the boy started to sign and then he shouted "Byakugan!"

Little Neji, for that is who this was, was practicing his families' art. Alone. With no one around to teach him. Neji managed to maintain the bloodline power for about two seconds, but then it seemed to fail him. The strange veins on the sides of his face faded and returned to normal.

Neji started to sign once more, determined to try get it right.

Kankuro could not help but be impressed, despite himself. Neji was obviously trying very hard to learn his family's techniques, but since he was a branch member he was not being taught by the rest of the family. It was a shame. But then again the guy was supposed to be a genius. Lucky Leaf critter!

As Neji continued to practice, Kankuro started to wander around the field. He was not interested in watching some Leaf ninja struggling to learn his trade, no matter how admirable it was. It was none of his business and he did not enjoy it all.

Just as Neji was going to sign again, a woman strode towards him from across the meadow. She was an older woman with a pinched, unpleasant face, a face that looked like she was sucking a sour lemon, and had been sucking that lemon for a while now. She had the pale pupiless eyes of a Hyuga.

"Neji!" the woman bellowed, and the boy jumped a mile "what are you doing wasting time here!"

A bolt of aggressive feelings and hatred jolted through Kankuro. He knew, instinctively, that Neji did not like this woman at all. Neji kept what he was feeling out of his face, but Kankuro could still feel the raw, angry emotions. It was actually very unpleasant.

Neji turned and bowed to the woman, careful to keep any nastiness out of his tone "I was practicing ninjutsu, my Lady."

"You should be with my granddaughter; it is your job to protect her!"

"I hardly think that she could come to harm in the compound-"Neji began, but the woman made a sharp gesture and Neji fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Kankuro felt a shiver of disgust. This must be that cursed seal.

"Do not question me!" the woman shrieked.

Kankuro decided that he really really did not like her at all.

Neji did not get up from the ground, nor did he raise his eyes to the woman. Kankuro could guess why. He probably did not want the women to get even a hint of he must have felt towards her.

"Now get your lazy ass back to the compound. I don't want to have to come and drag you back."

Neji struggled to his feet and followed Lemon Face back to the compound. He was trembling in rage and shame, and Kankuro could not help but feel a bit sorry for the kid.

They found Hinata sitting in the garden, apparently playing with a toy tea set. Kankuro could not help but scoff at the sheer girlyness of it. He could never remember Temari ever playing with tea sets. Their father had not allowed anything like that. It had always been some sort of physically activity for them, usually designed to hide training inside of fun. Tea parties did not enter into the picture.

Hinata gave her cousin a bright grin. Neji just bowed formally at her. She tilted her head and gave him a puzzled look.

Lemon Face left with one last glare at Neji. As soon as she was gone Neji plopped on the ground and glared sullenly at Hinata, who visibly flinched.

"Neji, do you want to play with me? I-I left a space for you…"

"Shut up and leave me alone." He growled. "You are nothing but dead weight."

Hinata flinched again.

"But, brother-"

"I am not your brother or your friend." Neji snarled "I am just your cousin. Stop and grow a spine you little worm." Neji turned his back on his cousin with a huff, frustration and anger coming off of him in waves.

"I see what is going on here, Hyuga." Kankuro muttered "You can't lash out at Lemon Face over there, so you just claw at the girl." It was clear to Kankuro that Neji was half of the reason that Hinata had turned out so withdrawn and timid. If this was standard in the Hyuga household then no wonder the girl had lacked confidence. It was clear that she had always been a sweet little child, but Neji's picking must have driving her towards timidly.

Not that Neji was entirely to blame. He had potential and power, that much was clear. However, because of his birth he was being used as a glorified babysitter. All it had done was to make Neji resentful and angry. Neji knew that he was good, and he knew that he was being shoved aside because of an accident of circumstance, his birth. Because of this Neji had obviously developed a fierce hatred for his own family, all because of the damn system they had devised.

Kankuro wondered how long it had taken the kid to learn how to hate his kin. Not that long, it seemed. Not at all.

* * *

There was little for the two ninja to do on the ship, and the crew had made it clear that they really were not wanted around the deck. So, as there was nothing better to do and because he was curious, Neji decided to bug Kankuro some more. He was curious about some things, and he was not going to leave the prickly Sand ninja alone until he gave answers.

"Kankuro we have to talk."

"Why." He grumbled. Kankuro had holed himself up in the only available cabin that the captain had giving his two passengers. It was small and cramped, but thankfully had two bunks so there was not any inconvenient awkwardness…okay to much awkwardness. Kankuro spent a lot of his time staring at the cabin's ceiling, stating that he still go queasy if he tried to walk around. It was probably true.

"Because, while you might hate the idea of us sharing memories when we sleep, the fact is that it is happening. Maybe if we talk about it we can figure this out."

"Told you before, I don't want to talk to you about it."

"So you still hate the Leaf, then?"

"Eh?"

"I saw a memory about your father telling you several not so nice things about my home. So, do you still hate us?"

"Father hated you, I won't deny it. During the chunin exams, I did to. It was easier to hate an enemy then to empathize with them. Temari almost made that mistake a few times, which is why she was so harsh during it. Both of us were trying to prove something to him." Kankuro laughed quietly. "Damn ironic. He was already dead by that time; we were trying to impress a corpse."

Neji did not know how that was "ironic". Sad yes, but not ironic. He did not understand how this man thought at all.

"What about your brother, did he ever get those lectures?"

"Naw," Kankuro replied. "The Fourth saw him as a weapon, not a son. He thought that Gaara was a bloodthirsty killer. He didn't need to teach something he thought Gaara already knew, it was us he felt that he needed to work on it. It actually worked in your guy's favor. Gaara never learned to hate a specific group, so when he started to be more human he didn't have the same prejudiced that most of us do." Kankuro finally looked at Neji. "Turn about is fair play, Hyuga. You got to question me now it is my turn. Do you remember a lemon faced old woman who kept telling you to babysit your cousin?"

Neji mentally went through the list of his family members in him mind. There was only one person he knew who could be described as a "lemon faced old woman". "That must have been my grandmother. She was the head of the Hyuga clan for a long time, but when she hit sixty she stepped aside in favor of my uncle. She is very traditional." Neji grinned. "When she found out that I had learned our techniques by myself she flew into a rage and tried to kill me. But Hiashi stopped her. Said that he owed his little brother for his sacrifice, and he started to train me himself. She still hates me, though. Takes every opportunity she can to punish me. I try to stay out of her way, these days."

"Hyuga, you got a screwed up family." Kankuro said.

"So do you." Neji pointed out.

"Heh, true." Kankuro said with a grin. "It's almost a prerequisite for being a ninja, right?"

"I suppose you are right about that." Neji said.

For once they had agreed.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Slaves of the Smoke

It took two days for Temari to finally talk to Shikamaru again, and then it was only because poor Rock Lee had been acting as a go between, and frankly he was getting a bit tired of their attitudes.

"This had gone on long enough!" Lee stated "The pair of you must stop this right now!"

"He started it!" Temari pointed at Shikamaru.

"She started it!" Shikamaru said at the exact same time.

"You are acting like a pair of children! And not in the good way, but in a bratty way!" Lee said. "I know that you two care for each other, so you should not act this way towards someone you love!"

Temari sputtered "I never said-I never-what makes you think that I love him!?"

Rock Lee rolled his eyes "Temari, if even Naruto can tell from the first moment he saw you together then surly everyone else can see it as well."

Shikamaru grunted. If Temari wanted to be that way then so be it! Bratty evil woman!

Rock Lee sighed "Look, setting aside the fact that the two of you are being purposely oblivious," More snorts from his audience "there is also the fact that we are heading towards enemy territory. If we do not get our act together we will be in trouble! I know that you both are extremely smart and tactical thinks, so put your anger aside and please, please act like adults!

Temari sighed and finally looked at Shikamaru "You know, if the guy who gives people sparkly thumbs up and who constantly talks about blooming flowers of youth is telling you to grow up then you know that you are really acting childish."

Shikamaru nodded "I don't like that your brother hurt you."

"And I don't like people dissing my brother. Look, Nara, you don't have siblings. I'm his big sister. I am supposed to take care of them, especially when they do something stupid. You don't know Kankuro like I do. Trust me; he is punishing himself more right now than anyone else ever could."

"What are you talking about?" Shikamaru asked.

"My brother is very traditional Iifernati. Me, I think its all crap, but Kankuro follows the old ways like a puppy. One of those old beliefs is that you shouldn't attack or hurt a family member. He's probably doing something incredibly stupid right now, and I won't be there to tell him to stop it!"

Man, this woman had a control issue that just would not stop! Shikamaru sighed. "Okay, look, I am not going to ever be happy about Kankuro attacking you. Sorry, but you are just going to live with that."

Temari wacked him over the head. "I don't want you to like it you drip! I want you to leave my brother alone!"

"Okay, okay." Shikamaru rubbed the bump on his head.

"Are you two quite done now?" Rock Lee asked with mild impatience.

"Alright, let me think." Shikamaru proceeded to think, pose and all.

"Great, while he focuses on spinning the hamster wheel I'll gather information." Temari said, and before Lee could ask her what she meant she had summoned her white wind weasel, Kamatari. Usually, she would summon the little creature on her fan and incorporate him in her attack, but she was fanless at the moment. And the weasel had other uses.

"Go and tell me what the Smoke are talking about. Find out as much as you can about them." She whispered. Kamatari leaped and vanished into the wind.

After few moments the weasel returned and whispered into Temari's ear. She nodded. "That is useful." She muttered.

"What?" Lee asked.

"Kamatari here heard a rather odd conversation. Apparently two Smoke soldiers were discussing how to make sure that family groups of prisoners remained together after they, and I am quoting here 'are bought'"

"'Bought'" Lee growled "I really do not like that word."

"Neither do I. For use when we capture prisoners we keep them apart, but these Smokes seem to want to keep family groups together."

For the first time, Kamatari spoke "They seemed most interested in keeping husbands and wives together." His voice was reedy and light.

"Hmmm, we still know little of their plans, though I don't like grunts will know that much." Shikamaru said. "I don't think they will kill us right away…I think we need to go along with this. However, if we are separated then that will be a problem."

"We can pretend to be related."

Shikamaru smiled "If they are most interested in keeping married couples together I think we need to make one. It will keep at least two of us together, and make communication a bit easier."

Lee nodded. "It should be you and Temari."

Temari glared at Lee. "Are you still pressing this lovey-dovey shit?"

Shikamaru tried not to wince at the description of his inner feeling as "shit".

"Yes, I think the pair of you are in love, even if you will not admit it." Lee said bluntly. "But, there is another reason. If these people are taking us as slaves I will be the most capable of surviving alone without ninjutsu due to my training. Second, the pair of you are, as I have stated before, brilliant tacticians. The pair of you should be able to come up with something."

Temari sighed. She really did not like this at all. She didn't like to be pressed into this whole…whatever it was that was between her and Shikamaru. Yeah the plan made some sense, but she did not like it at all.

"I suppose it's a good enough plan." She said, and glared at Shikamaru "No funny business."

"Yeah yeah, keep your shirt on." He growled at her.

"I intend to." Temari said.

_Damn it!_ Shikamaru thought. Why was she acting this way! He just did not understand this woman!

Temari was still glaring at him. It was freaking unnerving. It was like looking into the eyes of a mountain lion. A female mountain lion that was going to rip your face off for daring to get near her cubs. Yeah, that is what Temari was, a lioness. A fierce and terrible lioness.

And Shikamaru?

He was just a lazy deer who wanted nothing more than to chomp the grass and not be bothered.

Troublesome.

* * *

By nightfall they had reached what Shikamaru could only describe as a hellhole.

It started with the dark clouds in the sky, ominous and ever-present. Then, as they drew closer they saw the buildings. Now, neither Suna nor Konoha could ever be described as ordered places, but this place! It was wall to wall buildings. They all seemed glued together. They were cramped and way to bunched together. A good fire would have reduced the entire place to kindling. Also, there was the smell. The smell of burning coal and human waste and things dying permeated the air and settled on them like a blanket of pure sensory horror. Shikamaru thought he was going to die from it. He could see some buildings in the distance, belching smoke and nastiness. It was horrible.

The vehicle finally stopped at a warehouse near the smelling buildings. The prisoners were lead out of their cages and lined up against a wall.

To Shikamaru's surprise Temari was no longer sending him her angry signals. Instead, she had gripped his hand and squeezed. He knew that was her way of telling him that the play was on. It was time to act married.

How was he going to survive this? Yeah, he liked Temari, but he was not sure if he wanted to marry her!

It appeared that the wind weasel had been right. The soliders whent from group to group, and anyone who was a "couple" (and Temari wishpered to him that she regonized a few of them and they were indeed married), were put aside in another line.

A solider approached them. Shikamaru really really hoped he knew their languae.

"You together?" the soldier was looking at Shikamaru's and Temari's entwined hands.

Temari just nodded. She knew that if she spoke she would end up hitting something and that would be bad.

The solider apparently bought it, because he grabbed the two and led them over to the couple's line. Lee gave them one last cheery thumbs up as they were led away.

It was then that Shikamaru noticed that Temari was limping. Badly. In fact, really badly. It was like she could barely move.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

"Yep." She said, and squeezed his hand again, a little too hard. He got it. She was doing this for a reason. She would tell him eventually. He hoped.

"What wrong with her." The solider glared at Temari.

Shikamaru thought quickly "She was attacked by a mountain lion."

"A mountain lion?"

Shikamaru nodded and lifted Temari's shirt, just a bit so that the man could see a little bit of the scaring that ran along her sides. She squawked at him in protest.

The man looked away as if Shikamaru had done something really offensive, like spitting during one of the Hyuga's little ball things that Shikamaru had somehow managed to get himself roped into one night.

The man hustled them to the line. They were last ones in. Soon enough the line was moving to the east side of the warehouse. Shikamaru realized with a chill that the warehouse was wall to wall cages. He and Temari were shoved into a cage in the middle. An elderly couple were at their right side, holding each other and weeping silently. The cages to the left were empty. Shikamaru could not see any of the single slaves. They must be at another end of the warehouse where he could not see them.

Rock Lee was gone now. Shikamaru felt a pang. Sure he was not good friends with the energetic green one, but the man's optimistic presence had been both a buffer between him and Temari as well as uplifting and encouraging him.

The lights went out, and the weeping continued. Soft, almost inaudible, but still there. It was heartbreaking.

Finally, Temari spoke. And she was pissed as usual.

"I will make you pay for that, you know?" Temari hissed at him.

"Yeah yeah." He growled. "I thought you wanted them to think you were crippled or something?"

"Think, deer boy. Would you see a poor little crippled woman as a threat?" Temari hissed.

"Ah." Shikamaru nodded "Nice. You might have to use a small transformation if they examine you."

"Don't worry; just keep watching the enemy, Nara."

"You know, technically you are a Nara now, at least in the Smoke's eyes. In fact…" Shikamaru did not know why his eyebrows were moving up and down, but…

"Stop thinking with your nuts." Temari grumbled at him.

Shikamaru, who now deiced that he was going to enjoy this as much as he could, tried to slide close to Temari while they slept, she keep rolling away from him.

"Aww, come on 'honey'," this was becoming fun! "We are married after all."

"Yeah, but I am still pissed at you and we don't have a couch, so back up against the other side of the cage."

"But-YEEEEEEEEEEEEOWCH!"

"Move!"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to pinch that area that hard you know!" Shikamaru moved to the other end of the cage. She was so freaking evil!

It was very very cold that night.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, short chapter.

The thing is, most of the action is happing in Konoha right now. Kankuro and Neji are not really doing anything except dreaming, and I don't want to oversaturated this fic to much with the past that suddenly becomes more about the past then about the war and the wolf thing (if I am making any sense hear. As for Shikamaru, Temari and lee, well you have just seen what is going on, and not much will go…

Until…well you will see.


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Main and Branch

Reem munched on his koi fish, keeping an eye out for Hyugas.

They had to be careful here. Katsu might be Iifernati born and breed, but she also had those pale ivory Hyuga eyes. So did Maro. The two of them had holed up in the communal tent, avoiding the people who might, just might, want to enslave them.

Reem hacked off a bit of koi and slipped into the tent. There at the back was Katsu and Maro. Maro looked tense and angry, but then again Maro was known in the tribe for being rather combative and aggressive. He loved nothing more than to pick fights with people. Katsu, on the other hand, was relaxing.

"Hey, Katsu, Maro. I brought you guys some of the Hyuga's love-fishes."

Katsu looked at him strangely "Love-fishes?"

Reem shrugged "I don't know, it's what the Hyuga leader called em. Something about them representing love or something. I didn't get it. It looks like just another fish to me. Here, have some."

Katsu took a bite. "Not bad."

Maro grunted.

Katsu gave him a light slap on the arm "Oh stop grumbling. You are just sulking and it is getting annoying."

"Why do we have to hide from these damn Hyuga bastards anyway?" Maro growled.

"First, because we don't want to start a war inside of the war we already have started with the Smoke. It would be slightly stupid of us. Second, we need to stick close to your cousin."

"Bah! He doesn't care about us, why should we care about him! Following him in here was dumb. We could have settled anywhere. Why are we putting ourselves in danger for a brat who does not even care about use in return?"

"Maro, do not be an ass." Katsu said with a sigh. "It does not matter how Gaara sees us. We have to do what it right. It does not matter if he does not. Do you understand?"

Maro grumbled. "I don't like it. One of them could just walk in here at any time and see us. Not to mention the fact that we were seen at the front gates."

"We will just have to deal with it if the time comes." Reem shrugged. Reem didn't really get along well with Maro. The boy was, just as his mother said, an ass. But he was a Swooping Eagle, and therefore if the Hyuga did attack then Reem would have to stand by him, just as Maro would if Reem was in danger. It was how the tribe worked.

* * *

Unfortunately for the tribe, they were about to be found out.

Rumors were indeed flying about the village about the two Hyuga's, because that was what the village thought Maro and Katsu were, who had arrived with the Swooping Eagles. Fortunately, none of these had reached Hiashi.

But they had reached his younger daughter, Hanabi. Still a young genin barely out of the academy (in fact she had been assigned a team just last month), Hanabi was by far more assertive and confidant then her sister. She had heard about the scene at the village gates, and knew that her sister had been in Suna. To that end Hanabi had questioned Hinata, who had not given her a single thing. Hinata knew that the revelation of Katsu's existence would cause chaos, if not with her father then with her grandmother. The woman who had so tormented Neji when he was younger was still alive, and just as stubborn as ever. No one in the clan really liked her, but she was an elder and therefore supposed to be shown respect, even though many talked about her behind her back. Interestingly, just about the entire clan knew that woman as either "the Dragon Lady", "the Shrew" or several other nicknames.

It was too bad that Hanabi knew her sister way to well, and she knew the signs when Hinata lied. And when Hinata had looked at Hanabi and told her that she knew nothing Hanabi had known it was a lie. She could tell that her older sister was making a conscious effort not to stutter, and when Hinata was trying to hard not to stutter it meant she was hiding something. It might have fooled their father or even Neji, for both Hyuga males would have just been glad to carry on a conversation with Hinata that did not involve her stutter that they would have missed the fact that she was trying to conceal something. Hanabi had no such considerations.

So Hanabi, curiosity overwhelming her, was sneaking around the tent in the garden undetected. None of the Iifernati knew or spotted her, even though several of them were hanging around acting as lookouts. However, since they were not used to dealing with so many trees, added to the fact that Hanabi was very good at concealment, they did not spot her as she sneaked over to the tent and tried to have a peek under it.

As luck, or perhaps fate, would have it, Maro had wandered over to that side of the tent at just that moment, being sulky and generally disagreeable. No one paid much attention, as he was generally a disagreeable person.

The tent's edge lifted, and Hanabi peeked up.

And looked straight at Maro's face.

Maro jumped as thoughts of the evil that these creatures worked filled his mind. A Hyuga had found him! Now they could come for him and his mother! Despite his attitude and his dislike for Gaara, Maro was still a Swooping Eagle at heart.

No one was going to hurt his mother!

Snarling in rage he tried to shove Hanabi backwards out of the tent. Instantly going into her father's training, Hanabi blocked his hands and kicked him in the stomach.

"Get out here! I won't let you hurt her you little brat!" Maro bellowed.

Hanabi, who had no idea what he was talking about, snarled back "Get away from me you big lump!"

Maro, wishing he had his sword with him, tried to punch the kid. Hanabi decided that talking would not be a good idea in this situation, and just started to smack him around a bit. Maro lunged and shoved again, and this time the two ended him tearing a hole in the tent as they rolled out, still fighting.

By this time the fight had brought some unwanted attention. Hiashi, who had spent the morning chasing horses away from several valuable ferns, spotted his daughter wrestling with an Iifernati. He was pleased to see that she was kicking him in the shins rather violently, but less then pleased to see that had he pinned her to the ground. Oh, and there was the fact that they now had an international incident on their hands, there was that as well.

Katsu had also noticed that Maro had let the cat out the bag, and was rushing over to try and undo some of the damage her idiot offspring had caused. She grabbed her son by the ear and yanked him off Hanabi.

"Stop it! Control yourself!" She bellowed.

Hanabi jumped up to give this guy a good kick somewhere where he would really remember her for, but she felt a hand on her shoulder and her father's voice "Hanabi, don't."

Hiashi looked up, ready to apologize to the tribe members his daughter had assaulted, even though he had no idea why his daughter had attacked. He did not know who was responsible for this, but he knew that it would be a better idea if he was as diplomatic as possible. He froze, however, when he looked at Katsu. He almost gasped. She had their eyes, and looked very much like a typical Hyuga female. Katsu, who knew exactly what this meant, was now glaring at Hiashi, the arm that had been meant to restrain her son had somehow turned into a protective grasp.

"Who are you? What branch do you belong to?" Hiashi was pretty sure that none of the branch families dressed like Iifernati, nor did they randomly fight his daughter. Even though Hiashi was well on his way to abolishing the cursed seal (it was a proposal that was stuck in a kind of elder council hell at the moment, there were just too many elders who liked the old tradition), it still was around. Though he doubted that Hanabi would use the curse he knew that any branch member would never fight with her. There are some habits that are very hard to break.

"Are you blind, Hyuga. We are Iifernati." Katsu retorted.

Hiashi tried not to let his shock show.

"You have our eyes, it is obvious that you are Hyugas." He said.

"Eyes don't make a clan or a tribe." Jhimey, who had been told of what happened, walked slowly towards them. "Hyuga lord, my I introduce my wife and son?"

Hiashi saw movement out of the corner of his eyes, and noticed that the rest of the Swooping Eagles were prowling closer towards them. That is what it looked like. Prowling.

Hiashi turned to face the tribe's leader. He had never really talked to the man before. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I married her then I went to bed with her, and then a few months later he popped out." Jhimey said slowly, as if addressing an idiot. "I assume you know how it works, seeing as how you have done it twice."

Hiashi glared at him. "I know how it works. But why? Did you leave the household for some reason?"

Katsu laughed "You really don't know, do you? My great-something grandfather was Toshi, a man who your direct line banished for daring to object to the murder of his son."

Hiashi was wide eyed. "You are descended from the traitor?"

"Traitor? He was a hero." Reem objected. "He showed our children how to fight like ninja. He gave us our first Kazekage. And your people killed him and his sons!"

Hiashi was confused. Jhimey grinned. "When your ancestor murdered Toshi's first son he fled to Suna, and there he remarried a tribeswoman and gave birth to another son. He became the first Kazekage."

"And you murdering bastards will do the same to us, won't you!" Maro bellowed at Hiashi. "You will not touch my mother with your filthy curses! Not while I live! I'll tear you apart myself if you even-"

"Maro!" Jhimey snapped. "Try to be a little more diplomatic, son. Or, if you cannot, then let your father do the talking." Jhimey turned back to Hiashi "I do not want to start a fight with your kind, not here and not now. I had not intended for you to find out about my family."

"Why not?" Hanabi finally got a word in edgewise. She had been bursting with curiosity ever since this conversation started.

"Because, little one, my son and I were born in the tribe. We are free, and we love our freedom. We would not want to be enslaved by you, and we knew that is what you will want to do now that you know we exist." Katsu said. It was a look that reminded Hiashi of his brother. The same dislike, almost hatred, for the main branch. With a start he realized that here was the nightmare of the Hyuga family given form; the nightmare of a branch family that was not loyal to the main. Worse, they were allied with a foreign village that had a history of hatred with the Leafs.

_My brother's sacrifice…it was all in vain._ He thought. _All along Suna had the Byakugan at their disposal! But why did they never use it? Or have they, but we were unaware of it?_

"And now what will you do, I wonder?" Jhimey's voice was low, dangerous, and almost completely mocking. He started to circle Hiashi like a nervous tiger, and once again the Hyuga clan leader got the distinct impression of a twitchy hunting cat. "I must warn you, while I do not intend to cause a fight with your kind, if you touch my family…well we are Swooping Eagles not Bloodied Dragons. The sun eagle is a god of vengeance and retribution. I am sorry to say, that if you attack my kind I will be forced to become…" he leaned in close to Hiashi's face "unpleasant."

Hiashi stiffened, not used to being challenged like this. Most people who meet a Hyuga were formal and respectful to the ancient clan, but it was clear that these wild men were not as cultured as your common Fire lord. Sure, Hiashi had been threatened before, but most of the threats at always been veiled under a shadow of false pleasantness and culture. However, the man's candor was almost refreshing, if a bit shocking.

Hiashi knew, however, that it would be counterproductive to start a fight with the tribe. Part of the reason that he had somewhat tolerated the presence of the damned horses and their plant eating ways was the fact that, from the moment they had arrived, none of the Leaf villagers knew quite what to make of the Iifernati. They never had any dealings with them, and the Suna ninja and civilians treated them differently than they would a Leaf ninja, or even another Suna ninja. There was an air of independence about the Iifernati that confused the Elder council to no end. Hiashi did not know if he was in his rights to tell the Iifernati anything. He had not forgotten how his hasty killing of Hinata's kidnapper long ago had lead to the death of his brother. He was not going to be that hasty ever again.

While he knew that several Hyuga elders would be screeching in horror at his next statement, Hiashi knew it had to be done.

"I have no intention of doing anything to your wife or your son." Hiashi said. "It is clear that they are not a part of the clan, even if they are descended of it. I have been trying to abolish the curse seal for a while now, and I am not going to start using it on people who have obviously lived without it for years. As clan leader it is my decision and I will not put the curse on your tribe. I do warn you, that there are many in the compound that will be…less than thrilled."

Jhimey grinned, and even though the gesture was friendly, Hiashi could still not get the image of that snarling cat out of his head. "Excellent," Jhimey said. "So nice when the family can get along, yes?"

"Wait…you just said you weren't part of the clan." Hanabi looked confused.

"So I did, and we are not. That does not mean that we are not related, does it?" Jhimey said.

Hanabi studded him for several minutes. "You're weird." She finally concluded.

Hiashi had to agree.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Leaf village, two individuals were exploring the town. From their dress they were Iifernati, and most of the villagers were giving them a wide berth.

That did not stop the younger of the two from rushing around, looking at things and being generally jumpy.

"Look, look, Maira!" The young boy said "Fried tentacled things!"

"I see, Arch, I see." The other person, a woman, laughed. "Oh, will you slow down?"

"Sorry sis, does it bother you?"

"A bit, a bit." The girl found a handy bench and sat down with a sigh. "Go ahead and take a look at the squid, Arch. I am going to rest a bit."

"Are you sure you are alright?"

"Yes, Arch."

"Okay!" Jumping in glee the boy ran to the squid to oogle. He had never seen a squid before.

At that moment Sakura was walking down the street, going to meet with the rest of her mentor. She was unsure if Kakashi was going to be with them, or the new one, Yamato. Sai and Kakashi were back in town, but she was unsure of the arraignment of the teams. The remnants of Guy and Asuma's teams had been combined, so where did that leave Kakashi, who had been taking care of Asuma's team after Asuma's death? She was unsure, so she wanted to get the team situation cleared up with Tsunade.

Her eyes, wandering around fell on the boy. The aforementioned eyes widened in shock. No! It couldn't be! It was like she was looking into the past! She was staring a boy who looked like-

"Sasuke!?"


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Chicken Feet

The boy turned from the squid and stared at Sakura, a polite but puzzled smile on his face. "You're the third person that's called me that today. I'm sorry, but my name is Arch. I'm a Bloodied Dragon."

Now that the boy was facing her Sakura could see the differences between Sasuke and Arch. Sasuke, when not in Sharingan mode, had dark black eyes. Arch's were a warm, gentle hazel color. There shape was also a bit narrower and they were also slightly smaller. Arch's nose was a bit bigger then Sasuke's.

And, of course, there was a clear difference in attitude. Sasuke had always given off an air of smug superiority and arrogance. He was rude, conceited and haughty. Arch was none of these things. There was no arrogance or overt pride in Arch's stance or body language, just mild curiosity and perhaps and a bit of excitement. He was, however, about the same age Sasuke had been when Sakura had been put on his team, and Arch looked enough like Sasuke for Sakura to mistake Arch for Sasuke at first. However, on closer inspection the differences were obvious.

Sakura felt a twinge of pain. Arch looked way to much like Sasuke to make her comfortable. She supposed appearance wise, Arch looked enough like Sasuke to be considered attractive, but she was surprised at how little she was attracted to Arch. Maybe it was because Arch seemed so young to her eyes. Maybe it was because she knew he was not Sasuke. Or, maybe it was just because the boy seemed nice. Sakura was intelligent to know now that the main reason Sasuke had been so popular was because of his bad boy attitude, not due to any actual merit on Sasuke's part. This Arch did not seem that way at all.

But why did an Iifernati tribesman look so much like her old teammate? Then she remembered how Hyugaish Katsu was. Was this boy an Uchiha descendent?

Deciding not to beat around the bush, she said "You look a lot like my old teammate, Sasuke Uchiha."

"We are Uchiha descendents. Who is your new friend, Arch?"

Sakura turned and gasped in shock. The young woman in front of her was a total mess. Her left leg was simply gone firm the knee down, and she was leaning heavily on a wooden crutch in order to keep balance. Long jagged scars crisscrossed her face, and her left eye was covered with scar tissue. The girl might once have been pretty, but defiantly not now.

The girl grinned at Sakura "Oh, now I recognize you." She turned her single working eye at Arch "Well?"

"I just meet her; she thinks I am someone called Sasuke." Arch said with a shrug. He was giving the girl a puzzled look. "Why do people keep calling me that, sis?"

"Well, you do look like him, I must admit that." The woman said.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked.

The scarred girl refocused on Sakura "You don't remember me, do you? Of course, everyone was focusing on Gaara and his siblings at the time, and my team never made it past the Forest of Death. I was one of the Sand ninja genin at that chunin exam. You know the one. My name is Maira, and that's my little brother, Arch."

"Hi." Arch grinned at Sakura.

"You are a ninja?" Sakura asked Maira, trying to sort this out in her head.

Maira laughed again. "Oh, not anymore. I could hardly be a ninja or a warrior now with all of this." Maira gestured at her body, and Sakura noticed with a shiver that part of her right pinky had been sliced off; she had not noticed that before. "So I went back to my tribe and tried my best to serve them as well as I could."

"She is going to be the Huur one day." Arch said with pride. "When Huur Iren steps down she will lead the Bloodied Dragons."

Sakura shook her head. This was just too much.

"How did it happen?" She asked.

"Ah…ha…" Maira scratched her ear. "Well, even when we failed my team stayed behind under the excuse of watching our fellow Sand ninja. When the fight started…I ended up on the wrong end of one of your ninja, let's just say." Maira shrugged.

"Oh…" Sakura felt like she had been hit herself. One of her people had done this…monstrous thing to this poor girl? Sakura felt sick. Yes, they had been only trying to defend themselves, but still! She had never had to face the people she fought like this before. It was a horrible feeling, knowing that one of the people she called friend had probably been responsible for these grievous injuries. She wondered who had done it. Maybe the Inuzuka's? Some of the wounds looked like they might have been done by fangs.

"Hey, don't look like that…Sakura was it?" Maira said. "I'm a Dragon, we don't bear grudges. What is done is done and it can't be helped now can it?"

"I suppose so." Great, now Sakura was incredibly depressed, then she brightened when a thought struck her "Maybe Lady Tsunade can do something for you?"

Maira laughed "I doubt that even the slug lady can regrow a limb. It is alright. No grudges, remember?"

All of a sudden Sakura just could not stay there anymore. She was having enough trouble dealing with the fact that arch looked so much like her long lost teammate that she was almost having heart problems. Maira and her wounds just made this entire thing worse. The cherry on the top of this particular event was the woman's attitude. It would have been easier if Maira had blamed the Leafs or acted angry, because then Sakura could have some defendable position. This forgiving thing just made Sakura feel horrid.

"I have to go. Nice meeting you." Sakura edged away from the pair like they had lice or something and got out of there as fast as she could.

Arch turned to Maira with a puzzled look "Are all Leaf ninja that strange?"

"Yeah, just about." Maira nodded.

* * *

While the Smoke had basically taken over the Sand Village almost totally, there was still one place that they could not penetrate. The only place they could not get into was the Suna Theater.

For the fourth time this week, a group of highly trained soldiers was gathered at the entrance of the theater.

"Now!" Their leader kicked in the door, weapon raised and ready to strike.

About forty kunai flew from the shadows and struck him in the neck, face and chest. His weapon discharged and made little holes in the walls, but did nothing else. He fell down dead on the ground.

The rest of the solders moved down the hall, trying to look in every direction at once.

"Go! Dragon!"

A side passage opened in the hall, an opening that had been concealed in the wall. The puppet that came from the opening was a low slung, lizard like construction with paper wings and steel spines. Spines and wings rattling the puppet lunged and swiped at the soldiers, who peppered it with bullets. The Dragon puppet did not stay long, with a hiss the thing disappeared in a wisp of smoke, leaving two mangled Smoke soldiers behind.

"We have to get out of here!" One of the remaining soldiers said.

"No. we press on." A lieutenant said with an angry expression.

"But we will get killed! None of the other men who came in this devilish place ever returned!"

"We have our orders, now move it."

The protesting soldier shook his head and turned around to leave. A bang and the man fell with a bullet in his back.

"Anyone else want to turn traitor?"

Head shakes all around.

"Let's go then." The lieutenant said.

The dead solider got up.

The remaining men screamed and tried to run as the corpse opened fire at them. Five more fell to the ground by the time the gun had run out of ammo. Then, the corpse fell to the ground. By this time the soldiers had run to the other end of the hall and turned the corner to get away from the zombie.

The men continued on, they knew that if they tried to run they would just be gunned down by their own officer. So, they continued on, deeper into the theater.

Something rattled at them from above. One of the solders blasted the roof, but it seemed like nothing was there. He paused for a moment and studied the sky.

There was a funny splashing sound, and something landed in his eyes. He started to wipe it away, and then screamed as his eyes began to burn. Howling in pain he fell to the ground, but the acid worked quickly and ate through to his brain in a matter of moments.

The other soldiers didn't seem to notice any of this.

They made it to the stage, but still had not yet meet any actual person. Sure they had been attacked by puppets and so on, but no actual person.

"This is insane. These cowards won't even come out and fight." One of the soldiers grumbled.

Water began to leak through the cracks of the wooden stage.

"What the hell!" Another solider bellowed.

The theater seemed to fade around them. The stage started to rock and pitch as it they had been dropped into the ocean. To add to this effect the soldiers began to smell salt water. The stage was no longer a stage. All of a sudden the soldiers were on a boat, a ship rocking on the waves of an ocean.

"I told you they had magic!"

"No! This is a trick!" The lieutenant shouted.

"Nope, your little friend is right." The solder's looked up and there was Sticks, sitting on the ship's wheel like an oversized stork.

"Shoot him!" glad to have something to shoot at, the soldiers began to open fire at Sticks. The puppet ninja twitched a finger, and a tentacle shot out of the water and blocked the bullets. It was a rather large tentacle, in fact.

"Now that you've met the ship, now met the Kraken." Sticks was grinning.

The water rolled and a huge, ugly head emerged from the waves. Flat and red with a sharp beak and two beady black eyes, the Kraken didn't look like a puppet at all. It looked like a flesh and blood beast. The Kraken's tentacles engulfed the Ship and lifted it up out of the water.

The soldiers began to shoot wildly, at Sticks, at the Kraken, even at the Ship. It appeared to do nothing at all. The tentacles swept two of them into the sea, but they never made it to the water. Out of the waves a huge jaw surrounded by shark like teeth opened, and the two soldiers were crunched up.

"The last of my three, the Serpent." Sticks said.

The Serpent reared up and the soldiers could now see it in all of its glory. It was a deep blue sea serpent with shiny scales and long triangular shaped head. it opened its mouth and lunged for the Ship, munching another soldier.

"No! Damnit! No!" the lieutenant bellowed and ran, straight towards Sticks. He jumped and rolled out of the way of the lashing tentacles. He knew that this was just a trick! Once that Sand animal had been put down it would end!

The Lieutenant leaped towards Sticks and aimed his weapon. Now he had a clear shot!

A bright green flash and the lieutenant felt a sharp beak tear into his throat and rip into his artery. Blood spewed as he fell to the deck.

The little parrot puppet returned to Sticks' shoulder.

Sticks had barely moved his fingers at all.

* * *

As soon as the last of the Smokes had fallen to the ground dead, the ocean vanished into thin air. The Ship, the Kraken, and the Serpent remained, but the lifelike appearance of the Kraken and the Serpent faded, and they now looked like proper puppets instead of living things.

"Nice, Sticks." A woman came in, stage left, riding on the Dragon puppet, which had several bullet holes, but otherwise seemed perfectly functional. "Always loved those illusions of yours.

Sticks, who had actually been up in the rafters, rather than on the ship, jumped down. "Fools em every time." He gave the Serpent a fond pat on the head.

We can't keep it up, though." Akio poked his head out from a trapdoor in the floor. "We need to do it now, before they throw something serious at us."

"Do you really think it will work, though. Those legs have not been moved for centuries, and there are only seven of us!" The Dragon's rider said.

"Twelve if you count the apprentices." Sticks said. "And thirteen if you count Akio here. I know you don't like to fight, mate, but at the very least you can help move a leg!"

"That still is no enough, and the pair of you know it!" The woman said. "We need twenty people to move the legs, five to a leg!"

"And I keep telling you, Gin, I can move one on my own. If I can operate these three a leg won't be a problem." Sticks said.

"That still will not be enough! There will be only two people for the last leg!" Gin bellowed.

"Can you help move the last leg, Sticks? Do you have enough energy?" no one could really tell where the voice had come from, but the puppeteers did not react as if this were strange.

"I can try; I think I can do it." Sticks said.

"We have to try this, and we have to try it now." The voice said. "The Kazekage needs us."

"Why?" Gin scoffed. "The puppeteers may produce ninja, but the theater itself has never been technically allied with the Kazekage. Why are we rushing of to help him?"

"Watch yourself, kid." Sticks growled. "You don't talk like that to me."

"We are talking about the man who would not give you the proper respect, despite years of loyal service!" Gin retorted. "Why be loyal to people who treat you like crap!?"

"Enough. I know that traditionally we do not take sides, but we cannot let the Empire take over this land."

"Guardian, why not?" Gin asked.

"I cannot say, but we must try."

"I suppose if the Guardian says it, then I have to go along with it." Gin grumbled.

"Let's go." Sticks said.

* * *

A few hours later the ground began to move. The theater began to shake and tremble, and with a mighty heave and a loud scraping sound the entire thing lifted itself upwards. A leg with a clawed foot erupted from the sand and gripped the earth. Another heave and the theater was thrust into the air on four distinctly chicken like feet. It stood there in the massive hole that it was going to be leaving behind, swaying in the breeze. Then the theater started to gallop to the east, picking itself almost delicately over the homes of Suna.

General Corvin rushed to the scene and his jaw dropped. A theater was walking away from his town. Just picked itself up and was galloping away.

"There is something wrong with this place." He muttered, and then he started to bark orders. "Planes assemble! Follow that theater!"

There was a phrase you never expected to say when you were a conqueror of a primitive nation.

By the time the planes had assembled and the incredulous pilots debriefed, the theater had chicken ran its way half across the desert.

It would reach Konoha by nightfall.

* * *

A/N: Yeah...that last part is one of the goofiest things I have ever written. I have no idea where this stuff comes from.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

The Manor And the Factory

By now the Smoke soldiers thought that Rock Lee was quite mad.

But, let us face it; he was never designed to sit still. So it should come as no surprise that, instead of sitting around in his cage and moping, Rock Lee instead spent his time doing pushups, sit ups, and lots and lots of running in place. Frankly, he was scaring the poor people with his boundless energy and enthusiasm, and many buyers came in, took one look at him just running in place, and quickly found some other poor soul to take away.

There was no way for Lee to tell how much time had passed. It was too dark in this warehouse to see the light of the sun (and there was usually too much fog in the place for him to tell anyway). Sure he got two meals a day, but he was not sure if the Smokes were on a schedule or if they just feed them whenever the mood took them. Lee guessed that it had been about two or three weeks, but he had lost track.

One day a man came up to the cage that Rock Lee was in and just stared at the ninja, as if he recognized him from somewhere. The man looked at Lee with wide, almost astonished eyes, as if Lee was a strange kind of spirit or a ghost. Lee noticed this, and was worried that the man could tell he was a ninja, somehow. However, there was little Lee could do about it. If the Smoke came to kill him then he would simply have to overpower them and escape.

The man babbled at Lee in the Smoke tongue, which of course Lee did not understand.

Deciding that he was not going to finish the last five thousand of his one thousand pushups, Lee stood up and gave the man a polite bow.

"I am sorry, but I do not understand your language." Lee said as politely as possible. He then took a minute to study the man. Lee was not impressed. He was a large, heavyset man, who obviously had once been strong enough in his youth. However, that youth was long past (and the idea of "past youth" was aberrant in and of itself to Lee, just the phrase was enough to send him into hysterics). The man looked as if he had not done any kind of heavy lifting for a while. He was big, but also stooped and tired looking. His hair was graying, and the odd moustache he wore also was liberally sprinkled with greyness. He looked a bit like one of the workers in the warehouse, but older and a bit meaner.

"You are a Leaf barbarian?" The man asked with a dazed expression.

Lee frowned. He wanted to tell this man that he was a ninja. A true ninja, but he knew that he could not. So, he settled for the next best thing. "I am a Leaf villager, not a barbarian. Who are you, if I may ask?"

"Jera Couren. I'm the head foreman of the biggest steel factory in the Empire."

"Oh…I see." Lee had no clue what the man meant.

The man seemed to study the piece of paper on the outside of Lee's cage. Lee assumed that it was some sort of price, like what you would put on a piece of fruit in the market. Although he did not like to think of himself as a piece of fruit, he could think of nothing else to compare it to.

The man, Jera, gave him one last odd look, then walked off. A few moments later he returned with a guard. Lee had seen a similar process with the other prisoners, and figured out that this man had decided to…buy him. The very thought made Lee shudder and want to punch something, preferably a Smoke, but Lee was a ninja. He would not jeopardize the mission. He had faith in Shikamaru. Shikamaru would get them out. He had to keep thinking this, even when the hatful guard snapped one of those wretched handcuff things around his wrist and handed the other end to the old man. It was like a leash! Unbelievable! Even though he could have snapped the thing in half like a twig, Lee resisted the urge. He knew that this was necessary. So, instead of doing what he wanted to do, which was to attack and maybe rip the place apart and start freeing people, Lee followed the man and tried not to show how angry he was getting.

Lee gagged when they went outside. Did something die out here or something? Yuck!

"What's wrong?" Jera asked.

"I am sorry, sir, but the smell here is quiet distracting. I can barely breathe."

"What smell?" Jera looked puzzled.

"You do not smell it? It is everywhere. It is very disgusting. I smells like something burning."

"Oh," Jera nodded "You must smell the coal burning. Most of the factories burn it. It's part of our industry. I've been around it all my life, but I guess barbarians don't get its benefits wandering around in the wild like you do."

"Excuse me, but I do not 'wander around in the wild' as you put it. I have a house in my village."

"Oh I am sure that when you are dealing with mud huts-"

Lee was getting increasingly pissed. "It is made out of wood and stone, and I have several rooms. And I am not a barbarian. And if this stench is the result of your 'industry' then I would much prefer a hut!"

As soon as he had said it Rock Lee was afraid that he had gone too far, but they man did not seem angry. He gave Rock Lee a look of pure pity. Lee hated it. "I am sure that is only because you have never been in a real civilization. Trust me, after a year here you will never want to go back to that primitive place."

_You are wrong, you snob._ Lee thought. _I hate this place and all it stands for! And while I am not the kind to hold a grudge I believe that I can learn to hate you!_

Lee hoped not. He did not want to this place to destroy his most dearly held beliefs. But the Smoke just gave off an aura of horror and desperation that Lee was surprised that his companion could not pick up upon. But then against here was times in Suna were Lee had been suffering under heat that the Sunaians had not even blinked at. If you lived with something your entire life then you began to ignore it. So, perhaps it was easy of this Jera Couren to ignore the smell.

Lee hoped that he would never, ever get used to it. If he did…

It did not bear thinking of.

Jera took Lee to black carriage with a dark brown horse. The carriage was a small, simple thing, undecorated and unadorned. It had a single driver who gave Jera a startled look. The driver babbled something at Jera, who barked back at him. The driver shrugged, and then looked at Rock Lee with some curiosity. Lee gave him a steady look. There was no way he was going to cower to these people! Sure he could manage to be polite, but that did not mean that he was going to start bowing and scraping to these monstrous animals!

Jera let Lee in first, and then followed behind. He barked again at the driver and they were off. Lee tried not to look too hard at the scenery. He knew that it was just going to depress him.

Their destination was not far away. When Lee got out of the carriage he nearly started to cry again. It was one of those damned smoke spewing buildings! This must be a factory! The horror of it!

Jera led Lee inside the place. Lee nearly dropped right there. The smell was even worse in here! Ugh!

After his eyes were done watering; Lee noticed that the factory basically consisted of long lines of narrow steel tables whose surfaces moved about in straight lines carrying metal tubes traveled down the tables. Along the tables workers would do…things…some were just picking them up and looking at them. Others were putting screws in certain places. Some were drilling holes. Lee could not make any sense of this.

Jera led Lee to a large machine that was spewing more and more smoke. Lee gagged again.

"Your job is to pull this lever when the metal drops down from that hole." Jera pointed to the offending hole in the wall above the machine. A lump of metal dropped. Jera demonstrated by pulling the lever. The machine made what Lee could only describe and farting noises, and the machine spat out a tube, which landed on the moving table and started to travel down the line.

"That's it?" Lee asked.

Lee grabbed the handle and tried to ignore the fact that Jera had just chained the end of the accursed leash on the wall next to him. The hole opened and more metal dropped. Lee pulled the lever. The machine farted and a tube resulted. Lee stared as it was taken away.

This was going to get old.

Fast.

* * *

Moreel Tumas, the owner of the factory, had just finished his morning coffee when Jera walked in, looking pale and shaky.

"Morrie, you got to come and see this. Come and tell me I'm insane."

Moreel looked at his foreman and oldest friend. The two had spent a rather traumatic childhood together. They had lived as poor children in the slums, and had been working in steel factories since they were nine. Together they had learned everything about how the factories worked and had eventually saved up enough to buy one of their own. Through sheer stubbornness and tenacity the two had eventually clawed their way to top and hit it rich, making the metal tubes that would, eventually, be used as muzzles for the advanced rifles of the Empire. They may not be "Society, but they were rich. Very rich.

Moreel stoop up. He was a short man, and somewhat portly. In his youth he had been fast and wiry, but after a few years of good food and not having to fight all the time had taken their toll.

"What is wrong, Jer?"

"Come on." Jera walked over to the large window at the other side of the office. It looked down at the floor of the factory, so the two of them could watch what was going own in their territory. Jera pointed at Rock Lee, who was pulling the lever with the expression of one who was doing something he just knew was rather stupid.

Moreel's eyes widened. "I thought you were only going to look."

"Take a closer look at the boy."

Moreel squinted at Lee. All at once he drew back as if struck.

"I couldn't be! He looks like her!"

"And…Morrie he's just the right age or close to it! Look at him!"

"I'm looking Jer…but how can we be sure?"

"I think we should watch him. Maybe you can talk to him. See if he remembers her."

"He would have only been a few months, how could be possible remember her?"

"Then maybe that woman told him! Morrie this could be your chance!"

Moreel looked at Rock Lee with a speculative expression. "I am not going to get my hopes up…but if you are right…"

_It's the least I can do, old friend._ Jera thought. _To give you this chance no matter how small. After what I did, it's all I could do…_

* * *

Temari and Shikamaru had actually left a few weeks before Rock Lee did.

In fact they had been purchased that same week. The woman that picked them up had scared Shikamaru greatly. She just had the expression of someone in high authority. Shikamaru had never seen so much lace on one person! And the dress! It made the woman look like fancy bell!

They had been taken away in a carriage much larger and fancier then the one that had taken Lee. In fact, it looked like an ornate pumpkin, and it was so large that it took four horses to pull the thing.

The only think that relived Shikamaru was the fact that they were being borne away from the city. They were heading north, out of the city. It took them two days to reach their destination, and while Shikamaru had wanted to just leap out of the carriage and run for the nice pretty hills, he resisted the urge. He figured that someone who could afford to dress as a bell and have a pumpkin shaped ride with all this lace and gold and fancy animals…well they must be someone important.

Right?

This theory was reinforced when Shikamaru looked out the window and saw the manor. Shikamaru had thought the Hyugas had a large living space, but this was freaking ridiculous. There had to be at least a hundred rooms in the joint! Not to mention the large garden that Shikamaru could see from where he was sitting. Oh, and the two other buildings that Shikamaru could not discern the purpose of.

"I think we are in trouble, Temari." He muttered. "I see excess out there."

Temari looked. "Oh you have got to be kidding me."

The woman who had bought them spoke to them in a sharp tone. Temari gave her the most fake grin Shikamaru had ever seen and replied in the Empire's tongue.

"What?" Shikamaru asked.

"She wanted to know if we spoke her language. I told her I did, because I do."

"Where did you learn that?" Shikamaru asked in a disgruntled tone.

Temari rolled her eyes at him.

Okay, so she didn't want to tell him where the woman could hear. Fair enough. Just because she didn't like their language didn't mean she didn't understand.

The carriage pulled up to the front of the mansion, a marble staircase flanked by large stone lions greeted the two incredulous shinobi.

The woman practically shoved them out then motioned for them to stay there. Shikamaru sighed as the women entered the mansion.

"Who was she, anyway?" He asked.

"From what I could gather she is some sort of housekeeper or something like this. I think she is in charge of the servants and the slaves…us in other words."

"Great, so who owns this place?" Shikamaru asked.

"I think the place is called Northpoint Manor or something like that." Temari shrugged. "I don't know if it is named after the people or not. Hard to tell with Smokes. Tyr to look less disgruntled, Shikamaru, they are coming back!"

"I do not look disgruntled; this is how I always look."

"You look disgruntled."

"Gee, woman. It's only been few weeks and already you're nagging me."

"I wouldn't have to nag if you would act civilized! Honestly, Shikamaru, you are worse than Kankuro."

"How come you can talk about him like that but I can't?"

"I'm his sister, it's different."

"Darned, troublesome rule changing female." Shikamaru grumbled.

By this time their buyer had come back with two other people, another woman and a man. They both looked around middle aged. They where dressed even fancier then the housekeeper, with glittery lacy things and the stench of money practically coming off of them in waves. It made Shikamaru want to slouch even more.

The woman took one look at him and sniffed in disdain. She pointed to one of the other buildings and said something to the housekeeper in a stiff tone.

"She says you look like you are going to steal the silverware, Shikamaru." Temari sounded amused. "She wants you in the stables."

"Stables?" Well, that might be alright. He had experience with grazing animals. Okay, deer, but horses were close enough to deer.

Right?

The finely dressed lady gave Temari a searching look, and Temari tried to look nice and friendly. Something worked, because the woman started to say something in a calmer, but still stiff tone.

"Where are you going?" Shikamaru asked.

"Something to do with their kids."

"Good luck."

"Oh shut up."

The housekeeper motioned for Temari to follow. Shikamaru was shocked when Temari gave him a kiss on the cheek. He tried to tell himself that it was part of the act, but his hormones would not listen to him. He spent the next few moments just watching her leave with a doppy expression on his face.

"Hey, boy, pay attention." Someone said. The someone was behind him.

Shikamaru turned. It was the driver of the carriage. "You speak my language?"

"Yeah, I do. It's why the Master wanted me to drive Miss Aunna to the city. I was going to translate if she needed it." The driver leered at Shikamaru. "Still newlyweds, huh? Don't worry; I won't work ya so hard that you'll be too tired for a poke later."

Shikamaru bristled. "If you talk like that in front of her, I am going to shove that whip you are carrying down your throat."

"Touchy, are we? I wouldn't be so protective, if I was you. She looks like the kind that's been around the bend a couple of times."

_Have to remember the mission. Killing a man would be a determent. I don't even know where I would stuff the body._ Shikamaru tried to control himself.

Still leering, the diver, whose name was Urik, lead Shikamaru to the stables, the huge building that looked like it would have housed several average families. Shikamaru nearly reeled at the stench of the place when he entered.

To Shikamaru's endless annoyance, Urik handed him a shovel and told him that his first job was to muck the stables.

_I am never going to complain about training. Ever again. _Shikamaru thought as he started on the first stall. And the blasted place had to be half a mile long!

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

The master and mistress of Northpoint Manor had four children. The oldest was a girl about a year younger then Temari named Celeine. The other three were triplets; two boys and a girl. They were seven years old. Temari had been assigned to the triplets as a kind of nanny, a job which Temari found ironic. She had already raised Kankuro, so a pack of Smoke brats would be a piece of cake.

As one of the boys, Serius, was climbing the drapes in a determined path to the chandelier, his brother Timius was riding a large shaggy sheepdog across the room, leaving large dirty paw prints along the expensive rugs. The girl, Nere, was quietly reading a book.

"Well? Control them!" The mistress glared at Temari.

_I miss Kankuro. At least there was only one of him! Oh gods…does that boy have a match!_

Just like Kankuro.

Only doubled.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

Inverse Mirrors

The one good thing you could say about these dream memories was that Neji did not have to feel the heat of the desert, no matter how much of it he was forced to trail behind the younger version of Kankuro.

Yes, when that hateful man that Kankuro called father decided in this memory to take his two eldest children out for what he called "training" Neji had just known that it was going to be a bad scene. None of the scenes with the Fourth had been pleasant. Neji had every intention of staying put, however, whatever Powers-That-Where did not like this option, and he found himself sliding across the sand after Kankuro and his family, with no actual movement of his own. Neji found that he could actually kind of sit in midair, a position that was actually more comfortable than just standing, so he just relaxed in midair as Kankuro and Temari followed their father.

Neji finally realized where they were going; they were going to the border with the Land of Fire.

"Now, little ones," the Fourth turned to Kankuro and Temari, who looked up at him with eager expressions "what is the most important function of the Sand ninja?"

"Defend the Sand!" Kankuro said.

"At all costs!" Temari finished.

"Right." Said the Fourth. "Now," he lowered his voice. "Since our greatest enemies are just a few miles away from us, what is the greatest threat to the Sand right now?"

"Leaf ninja." Kankuro said.

"Excellent Kankuro." Neji winched as little Kankuro beamed. "And what do you think is just over that sand dune over there?" The Fourth pointed. His children gave him blank looks. The Fourth smiled "Leaf spies. A whole squad of four. They are right over there slinking and spying on our land. What do you suppose we are going to do with them?"

"Chase them off?" Temari volunteered hesitantly.

"No." The Fourth said. "They must die. Right here, right now."

Kankuro and Temari looked appalled.

The Fourth's eyes narrowed. "I know that this will be the first time you have ever taken a life. This will not be easy, but it must be done. The Leafs will destroy us all if they are not kept in check! You are Sand ninja. Your duty is destroy every threat to your homeland and that is what you are going to do. Don't worry; I will be right there to help you."

"No," Neji muttered. "No, no, this is wrong! You heartless bastard! How can you do this!"

But the Fourth was just a memory. He gave no reply.

Neji watched, helpless, as the three Sand ninja stalked his fellow Leafs. As the sleeping Leafs came into view Neji realized he recognized the squad. According to the gossip they had just disappeared.

Neji knew how this would end, and he hated it.

With a blood crazed roar the Fourth leaped into the air, a large blade seeming to just appear in his hand. It was lined with powerful chakra, and the blade looked like a blue flame in the fading light. With a mighty sweep the Fourth cut down a perfectly innocent genin in his sleeping bag.

The jonin in charge of them leaped up. Neji knew that this was the missing group, because he vaguely recognized the jonin.

"Run! We are under attack!" The jonin leaped at the Fourth, meeting his firey sword with his kunai.

The other genin leaped awake. One of them, a girl, gaped at her dead comrade and let out a cry of horror. She rushed to the dead boy and shook him, as if she was trying to will the boy to live again.

The third genin just sat there, frozen in horror.

"Temari! Kankuro! What are you waiting for! Attack!" The Fourth bellowed.

Temari's face was locked in an expression similar to the other girl's, but she obeyed her father. She drew her own kunai and rushed at the other young kunoichi, who was too busy being in shook to notice the smaller Sand genin. The Leaf girl had just enough time to look up as Temari slashed her face and plunged a kunai into her throat.

The last genin finally ran.

"After him! Don't you dare let him escape, boy!" The Fourth bellowed at Kankuro, who ran after the fleeing Leaf ninja.

The Leaf genin was fast, and it looked like he was going to outrun Kankuro. However, at the last moment Kankuro flicked out a finger and tripped the boy with a chakra string. Gripping his own kunai Kankuro jumped on the fallen boy, who squealed in terror.

"Please no! Please! We were just lost! We didn't know we had crossed the border! Please let me go! I don't want to die!" The genin cringed.

Kankuro hesitated, the horror of what was going on overtaking his mind. "I…but…" Kankuro muttered. He lowered the kunai.

Neji breathed a sigh of relief. He was going to let the boy go!

But then…why didn't the genin ever come back?

At that moment the Fourth appeared, covered in blood. He looked like a demon in the moonlight. "What are you waiting for? Are you going to let that rat threaten our home! Kill him!"

Kankuro turned to his father "But-"he began.

Perhaps the Leaf genin panicked at the sight of the Kazekage, but as soon as Kankuro had turned his head the boy struck out and slashed with a hidden blade of his own, slicing Kankuro's forehead open. It was a shallow blow, but it was enough that Kankuro's training took over, and he slashed with his own kunai, eviscerating the Leaf with one swift swipe.

The Leaf took a long time to die. He flailed and struggled, screaming and writhing in pain. He grabbed at Kankuro, but Neji could not tell if the dying boy was trying to take his killer with him or was just reacting to the pain.

Finally the boy's eyes glazed over and his hands fell to his sides, never to move again.

Kankuro was panting in terror, his own eyes wide in horror.

The Fourth's eyes softened for the first time that Neji had ever seen. He walked over to his son and placed a hand on Kankuro's shoulder. "I know, son, I know. It is hard to kill another person, especially when they are so young. Killing is never easy, unless you are a monster like Gaara. You are no monster. There is no shame in feeling bad for the boy, or feeling bad that this had to be done. Just remember, though, that this had to be done. It is not a good thing, but it is a necessary one. If this boy had reported to his superiors our people would have suffered for it. Remember that, and it gets easier."

"But, they said they were just lost." Kankuro said.

"He lied, son. He lied." The Fourth said. "You saw how he attacked as soon as your back was turned! He would have taken your life. It was him or you." The Fourht was smiling now. "You did well. You will get even better in time. I am proud of you."

Kankuro looked up at his father, his horrified look faded to one of pure and utter joy.

Neji felt sick. What kind of man was this! He was playing his own son like a little drum! He was using Kankuro and turning him into a killer!

Then Neji realized. He remembered what Kiba had said after the failed Sasuke retrieval. How Kankuro had killed without a sign of pity or remorse.

The Fourth had succeeded.

He had turned his son into a murderer.

Neji was still in shock when he noticed that the memory was starting to blur, just as it had at the first one when it…sort of switched scenes.

Neji closed his eyes. Not more carnage! He could not take much more of this!

However, when he opened his eyes he did not see the Fourth teaching his children those horrible lessons. Instead he saw Kankuro, back in the Sand village with a bandage wrapped around his head, trying to coax something out of a fallen and broken cart.

Neji heard a helpless, squeaking mew and a tiny black and white kitten poked its nose out of the broken wreckage of the cart. Kankuro cooed quietly and held out a hand. The kitten sniffed him and purred. Kankuro gently stroked the thing's ears and the kitten started to rub its head on the young ninja's hand. The kitten climbed the rest of the way out of the cart, and Neji could see that it was limping and dragging its left hind leg.

Kankuro gently picked up the cat and cuddled it.

"Poor thing. You're hurt." He murmured.

"Kankuro, what is that?"

Neji turned and saw Temari. She was staring at the cat with a look of quiet disbelief.

"She's hurt, Temari." Kankuro said.

"I can see that. What do you think you are doing? You know Daddy does not approve of pets!"

_He probably thinks they would make you soft._ Neji thought bitterly. _That man is a psychopath!_

Kankuro cuddled the kitten closer, not willing to give it up. "If I leave her she could die." He said.

"Cats die, Kankuro. You need to be tougher-"

"Not you too! I-I just killed someone! Isn't that enough for you and him? I don't want to be the death of someone else! And this is not an enemy ninja! It's a cat! Just an innocent cat!" The cat, sensing Kankuro's sorrow, nuzzled him under the chin and mewed.

"Kankuro, we can't have a kitten." Temari said. Then her eyes brightened. "But I think I know where we can take the kitten! Come on!" She grabbed Kankuro's hand and pulled him along the street. He followed, holding the cat gently.

Withen moments they were at a house. Temari pounded on the door and a grumpy looking Baki emerged. He took one look at Kankuro and his cat and snorted in surprise.

"Baki, don't you have a sister?" Temari said.

"Yes." The jonin glanced at his students with surprise.

"She likes animals, right? Do you think she would take in this cat?"

Baki stared at the cat, who was still rubbing Kankuro's chin.

"Kankuro?" Baki said.

"I-I know. I am not a good Sand ninja. I just couldn't leave her. She's all alone." Kankuro said.

Baki's eyes soften about a quarter of an inch.

"You are supposed to be merciless to your enemies, Kankuro, not to cats." He said. "If you were cruel to every living being you would not be a ninja at all. You would be your brother, a monster. I'll take the cat. It is in safe hands."

Kankuro gave the cat one last scratch on the ears and handed the little thing over to Baki, who took it gently.

Neji's head hurt. A lot. How could a boy be so savage in one instant and then be so kind to helpless animals the next? And what happened to make this gentle kind boy become the savage brute that Neji knew Kankuro would become? Had his father just stolen all of his innocence? Why was there nothing left of the good boy in the angry bitter man?

Neji did not understand.

* * *

Kankuro yawned as the younger version of Neji looked blandly at his uncle.

"May I have my off time now, Lord?" The boy asked with what Kankuro could tell was barely controlled hatred.

Hiashi seemed busy, working on some paperwork. He looked up briefly to glance at his nephew. "Of course, did I not schedule your break for today, Neji?"

"Thank you." Kankuro wondered how in the world the Hyuga lord missed the angry glare his nephew sent him. Before Hiashi could look up again Neji was off.

Kankuro was forced to follow as the boy raced through the Leaf village streets, diving and weaving his way through the crowds. Kankuro was a little curious. Where was the bitter boy going in such a hurry?

Neji made an abrupt turn and dashed towards a house. He screeched to a halt, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

The door opened, and woman with dark black hair and a friendly expression looked out. She grinned broadly when she saw who it was. "Neji!"

"Hello Mother." For the first time since Kankuro knew him Neji smiled.

They hugged. Kankuro started to feel highly uncomfortable. Neji went inside the house, and for the next five hours (or at least what felt to Kankuro like five hours) Neji and his mother talked and ate and caught up with each other. Here, in this simple house with its plain rooms and quiet atmosphere Kankuro finally saw Neji relax a little bit. The angry tension he always sensed from the boy faded, and Neji seemed more like his older self. Calm and in control. It was clear that he loved his mother, and they spent their time talking and catching up with each other.

Kankuro winched. This was hard for him to watch. He always felt awkward around other people's mothers. He could barely remember his own. She had died when he was just a year old. All he could remember from that time was a soft and gentle voice, a sensation of warmth, and a lullaby he could only remember in bits and pieces. He didn't like those memories. They made him feel soft.

"Neji, how are you and Hinata doing?" Neji's mother asked. Kankuro had no idea how the subject had come up. He had been too busy feeling sorry for himself.

Neji made a face. "She's annoying, Mother." He said.

Hi mother frowned. "You should be nicer to her."

"Mother! If it were not for her and Lord Hyuga then Father would still be alive!" Neji said with an angry glare.

"Neji," the woman sighed "You cannot live your life angry all the time. It's not healthy. And it was not Hinata's fault. She was just a child."

Neji glared at his lap, and did not answer. His mtoehr gave him a sad look, but changed the subject.

"You should listen to you mother, kid." Kankuro growled. "You never know how much time you have with them."

Thankfully for Kankuro, Neji spent only a little more time with his mother. As they left Kankuro could not help but notice the woman's mournful expression as she watched her son leave. Kankuro could not help but wonder why she did not live with the Hyugas to be nearer to her son.

As Neji was heading back into the Hyuga compound he spotted Hinata, sitting under a tree and reading a book. Neji's face contorted with rage. He snarled and started to stalk towards the little girl. With an enraged bellow he shoved Hinata over. The girl squeaked in terror and surprise as Neji attacked her. He lashed out angrily and punched her twitch on the arm and kicked her.

Kankuro winched. What was with this sudden change in attitude? Neji had been so calm around him mother, but now he was attacking his cousin with savage vigor.

Neji jumped away from his cousin and started to walk away. Quikly as if nothing had happened.

Hinata picked herself off the ground and gave Neji a sad look "What did I do?" She muttered.

Neji stopped, and then turned to glare at her. "You exist, that is enough."

Kankuro shook his head. How could a person so young be so angry? How in the world did this angry, bitter boy go from this to the loyal ninja he knew? Was the power of Naruto's words really that strong? Did he really change Neji from this…this…monster to a human being? How?

Kankuro did not understand.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

Bloodline Curse

Hiashi had to admit, with Katsu no long hiding in the tent the situation with the horses got a lot better. The woman had a way with the animals, and managed to keep them from eating anything else that might be valuable. Now finally able to ignore the blasted beasts, Hiashi tried to find a quiet spot to finally enjoy his garden, despite the fact that it was crawling with Iifernati.

He had finally found a nice section close to a pond in which to relax for a bit. Most of his family did not know this, but he usually spent the time in the garden to relax without having to worry as much about appearance. Not even Hiashi could keep up that stiff formal persona for too long. He would have gone mad long ago if that were the case. But he still could not fully relax in public. It was not befitting for the head of the Hyuga clan to act in an undignified manner.

Just as Hiashi was letting himself unwind the bushes rattled and two Iifernati wandered into the area. In a microsecond the steel cables that no doubt serve as the support structures for Hiashi's spine snapped back into place.

Hiashi noticed that one of them was an older man, about the age of his own rather forceful mother, while the second man was a teenager. The teenager was leading the older man, who for some reason had a cloth tied over his eyes.

"Well, how is the sun here, Cor?" the older male asked.

"Almost tolerable, Arrl. But there is a Hyuga here."

Hiashi, now in full head of clan mode, forgot about simply relaxing today. But, even though he was going to miss out on his break he realized that this was an opportunity to try and feel out these Iifernati. They were baffling, and he wanted to know more, but Jhimey and Katsu were just so intense it was hard to be around them. Plus that son of theirs had a tendency to hover and glare. He made Hiashi nervous. The older man seemed more serene, and the teenager was not glaring or snarling at him.

"It's alright." Hiashi said. "Who are you?"

"It's so cold in this place; I'm not used to it." The older man said. "I am Nori, the Arrl of the Swooping Eagles. This is Cor, my assistant."

Hiashi looked at the man. "What is an Arrl?"

Cor lead Nori to a small rock in a patch of sunlight, and the old man stretched and settled himself on it. "An Arrl," he began, "Has several jobs in the tribe. I heal the injured. I interpret signs and omens for the tribe. I tell stories to the young so that they will know what it means to be an Eagle. I advise the Huur. That is about it."

Oh great. Hiashi nearly groaned. He was uncomfortable about the Swooping Eagle beliefs, especially the part about their god being one of vengeance and the fact that the Eagles seemed determined to carry a grudge that the Hyugas themselves had never even known existed.

"I know my son and my grandson were rather forceful with you a while ago. I apologize for them. They can be rather defensive. Maro gets it from my daughter, I know." Nori said.

Hiashi mentally analyzed that sentence. It made no sense. "Wait…who are your children?"

Nori was grinning now, a little mischievously. "Jhimey and Katsu are my son and daughter. Maro is grandson."

"Wait…what?" Hiashi was not normally slow, but the incestual connotations of what he was being told…

Cor laughed. "Arrl, you are scaring the poor Leaf!"

Nori laughed. "Yes, I can imagine! I am sorry, Hyuga lord. I was just playing a bit. In your land you would call Jhimey my son in law, I believe. Iifernati rarely make such distinctions. He is joined to my daughter so he is my son. See?"

Hiashi breathed again. This was much better than the horrible thoughts that had flown through his mind.

"Oh, Arrl, it's time. Do you want me to help?" Cor said.

"Yes." Nori nodded.

Hiashi was curious. "What are you doing?" He asked.

"It is just a little something for my eyes. They have been aching lately, just like my father's did." Nori said as he removed his cloth. Cor was rummaging around a bag and pulled out a small bottle of ointment. He dripped a little bit onto the Arrl's finger for him and Nori let the liquid drip into his eyes. Hiashi could not help but notice that without the cloth you could tell that Nori was Katsu's father. Defiantly Hyuga eyes.

"Are you alright?" Hiashi asked.

"I am not blind, if that is what you are thinking." Nori said. "But I am very badly nearsighted. It has been getting steadily worse the older I got. I can still see basic shapes, but it is very blurry I might as well be blind. And my eyes ache a lot. It has been happing to my family for a long time. It will happen to Katsu and Maro, eventually."

Hiashi frowned. "We Hyuga have some experience with that condition as well. It happens when you do not use the Byakugan enough. The chakra will build up and begin to damage the irises. Didn't you know that?"

Nori frowned as well. "No. Toshi died before he could pass on anything to his son."

"Well, if you use the-"

"I cannot, Hyuga lord." The Arrl interrupted. "Nor can my son or grandson. None in my family know how to use the bloodline limit at all. We never learned it. The curse seal may not have been passed through blood, but it did prevent Toshi from teaching his son his inheritance. Occasionally our kind will exhibit the appearance of the Byakugan, but none of us can actually perform it."

Hiashi could not believe this. Were these people trying to make him feel horrible about being a Hyuga? As if Neji had not done a good job of that long ago! He had been tying to heal the rift between the main and branch families, but all of this was making him wonder if it was worth it. Hiashi was smart enough to realize that all of this was not technically his fault, but the bad press from this was going to be horrible. Many in the council of Konoha thought the Hyuga were old fashioned and dying out, a point of view spurned out by Neji's acting out when he was younger. Though the boy had stopped his hostilities, he had been so loud and vehement during the exams that the opponents of the clan had frequently used it as a talking point against the Hyuga. Now it seemed like there was yet more dirty laundry in the Hyuga closets.

It did make sense, though, because if Toshi had died before teaching any of his offspring how to use the Byakugan that they would have this problem. The Hyugas, both branch and main, and to be taught to use their abilities properly and while the Gentle fist style was only taught to the main, the Byakugan itself was taught to all as a necessity, for exactly this reason.

"It is not hard to use the Byakugan, if you know what you are doing. I could probably show you how, thought it will only stop the progression of the damage, not reverse it. Lady Tsunade might be able to help you with that." Hiashi said, thinking that here was a chance to start repairing the damage that his ancestors had caused.

Nori, however, was looking suspiciously in Hiashi's general direction. "And why would you do that, Hyuga lord?" He asked.

"I am attempting to heal the rift between the two families and-"

"Ah, so you think to use my family in a plot, eh?" Nori shot back. All of a sudden Nori looked more like his daughter then anyone else.

"No, wait, it's not a plot, its-"

"If you think that I believe in anything you say then you are completely mad." Nori said with a growl "None of us have forgotten what your family had done to us. This conversation is over." Nori stood up and turned away. Cor gave Hiashi his first glare and the two began to walk away.

"Wait, I did not mean to offend-"

Nori turned his head and snarled. "Give up, Hyuga. No Swooping Eagle will believe anything you say. We do not trust you. I do not trust you. Do not try this ever again." The two walked away without another glance back.

Hiashi stared at the place where they disappeared.

* * *

Hinata had no idea what was up with that grey mare that she had meet back in Suna. It had, of course, gone with the Swooping Eagles, and since they were here so was the mare. For some insane reason the horse had seemed to seek her out and was now just standing there, staring at Hinata with strangely intelligent brown eyes.

Hinata, who still was slightly fascinated by the horses, found herself petting the mare on the nose. The mare, in turn, seemed to like this and kept nudging her.

"You know, it amazes me how much that mare likes you, girl." Katsu was grinning as she approached Hinata and the horse.

"She's really nice." Hinata remarked as the mare tried to nibble her hair. Hinata knew that her father hated the animals, but she could not help but find them pretty.

"Usually an Iifernati horse will bond with a certain tribesman. The two are together until one of them dies. Iifernati horses are bred for intelligence and loyalty. Say, would you like to ride her?"

Hinata blushed. "I-I don't know how. I've never ridden an animal before."

Katsu laughed. "Zeera here seems to like you! I am sure she will let you ride her! I'll teach you, come on."

Hinata was not sure about this, but it was as if Zeera the mare had understood the entire thing, because she started to push Hinata gently towards Katsu, as if to encourage the shy girl.

Hinata fidgeted nervously as Katsu saddled Zeera. She was suddenly very scared about this.

"Now, just put your right foot here and swing on to her. Come on, don't leave the poor girl hanging." Katsu grinned. Hinata wanted to run, but at the same time she did kind of want to try it out. Ninja always traveled on foot, and she could not help but wonder what it was like to ride an animal.

Hinata swung up onto Zeera, who stamped and shifted a bit on her hooves. Hinata nearly pitched forwards over the horses' head. Katsu and the other Iifernati made this look so natural! Hinata, on the other hand, felt like she was going to fall off right then and there.

"Now, here is how you hold the reins…" Katsu grabbed the reins and tried to show Hinata how to hold the things, which made Hinata squeak a bit in horror. She did not know why, but the sight of reins was making her really really nervous. Maybe it was the thought of having to guide another living thing.

Thankfully, Katsu did not just set her loose. She still had a hand on Zeera's reins. She started to lead the horse around, constantly giving Hinata hints. At first Hinata was shocked at how uncomfortable this actually was. Just seeing a person ride did not prepare one for actually riding one at all. Plus, Hinata still felt like she was going to fall off the horse any moment now. However, after a while she started to get used to feeling. It was odd, but very interesting. She was starting to like this.

It was at this point that Hiashi emerged from the trees. He saw his daughter perched preciously atop one of the hateful fern eating horses and nearly had a brain embolism. He did not like or trust the things, and to see Hinata anywhere near those sharp hooves and big yellow teeth…

Hiashi forgot all about trying to understand or get along with the Iifernati. Now he was simply furious with both the tribe and his own daughter. He stomped towards the horse like a thundercloud.

"Hinata! Get off of that thing right now! What are you thinking?" He would have gone on had it not been for Zeera.

From the moment that Hiashi started to rage Hinata had started to tremble with fear. She had always been intimidated by his anger. She was still inclined to be afraid of both her father and Neji, and she also hated to hear the people she cared about raise their voices to her.

This resulted in an odd reaction from Zeera. As if the horse had somehow tapped into Hinata's feelings the moment she began to feel them. As Hiashi approached the horse whirled and whinnied in anger at the Hyuga lord. Hiashi, in no mood to be pushed around by a horse, ignored Zeera and continued to march angrily towards them. Hiashi reached for Hinata, attempting to drag her from the horse.

Zeera screamed at him in rage and thrust her had forwards, attempting to bite. Her large teeth snapped an inch away from Hiashi's face, and he jumped back, startled. Once he was out of the way Zeera charged, galloping away with Hinata still on.

Hiashi turned to Katsu in rage "What have you done?" He shrieked.

"What have_ I_ done? You are the fool that scared my horse! Do you have any idea what just happened!" Katsu bellowed. "Oh, never mind! You are hopeless! Galler! Galler!"

Hiashi had no idea what those last two words meant, but then he saw another horse galloping towards them, a dark black gelding. Katsu jumped on the horse's back (Hiashi assumed that Galler must be the thing's name), and started to chase Zeera and Hinata.

Hiashi, not willing to let this crazy woman and her beasts get to his daughter, followed on foot.

But it was a ninja foot, so he was just about as fast as a horse and rider.

He was a bit disturbed by what the woman had said. What had he done?

He was determined to find out.


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

The Theater Arrives

Gaara had been avoiding the Hyuga compound as much as possible. Actually, he had been mostly avoiding the Iifernati that were camping in the garden as much as possible. They made him feel distinctly uneasy. Not for the first time he found himself missing his siblings. Kankuro knew so much more about these Swooping Eagles than he did. He might be able to explain why they seemed so determined to badger him. The one bothering him the most was Jhimey, their leader, whom Gaara refused to think of as anything other than the Huur of the Swooping Eagles. Gaara could not stand thinking of Jhimey as his uncle, much less his paternal uncle. The brother of his hated father! An uncle that, until now, did not seem to give that much of a damn about Gaara! If Jhimey really cared why didn't he come forward sooner? Gaara suspected Jhimey, though he was not sure what of.

Gaara spent a good deal of his time hanging around Naruto. Gaara was no longer the One-Tailed Beast's host, but Naruto treated Gaara no differently than he had before. Gaara felt a lot better, in general, when Naruto was around. Perhaps it was because Naruto was just constant. You could pretty much predict what Naruto would do without much effort, and being around him was calming, especially when the rest of your world had been upturned.

Unfortunately, Gaara knew that he could not spend all day just shooting the breeze with a friend. He was the Kazekage, and he had a job to do. So, with some nervousness, Gaara found himself in the Hokage's office, participating in what only could be called a war council. This in itself was not the problem. The problem was that the two Iifernati Huurs were also involved, as well as Gaara himself and Baki. Gaara was unashamed in the fact that he was basically using Baki as a kind of buffer between himself and the Iifernati. Gaara would rather have told the tribes to go far far away. But the fact was, no matter how much Gaara did not like it, the Iifernati were necessary. The Sand had been left with precious few ninja, and they needed the support of the two tribes. So Gaara had to play nice.

He hated that.

"I don't think a frontal assault is going to work." Baki said. "It is true that the does not seem to have any ninja, but there new weapons are devastating in the open field. We need some way to make them useless in combat."

"They fight like how the Gelels supposedly fought." Iren said thoughtfully. "I wonder if the old tactics we used against them would work on the Smoke?"

"How is that?" Tsunade asked.

"Basically guerrilla fighting. It's the best way to fight when your enemy can overpower you, after all. And the Iifernati have been doing it for years. Never really stopped." Iren grinned at Tsunade "I know that your kind have traded those tactics for just beating people to a pulp, but the Sand had people like that as well and just look what happened to them."

"They attacked the very center of our military power first." Gaara noted, gazing at the map of Suna that someone had planted on Tsunade's desk. "If I were them I would head for the capital next. And unfortunately we have not heard word from them at all."

"'Course the feudal idiot could just be too busy soaking in that solid gold pool of his while his people are fighting invaders." Jhimey's eyes darted to window, to the door then to map. He had been awfully jumpy every since he had walked in the door. Gaara could not figure out why.

Gaara continued as if he had not heard his uncle, and tried to forget that "feudal idiot" was also Kankuro's favorite term for the Daimyo. "If we are going to use guerrilla tactics, and I agree that would be the best idea." Gaara hated that the Iifernati were right, but they were and Gaara was not going to risk his people's lives just because he had daddy issues. "Can anyone think of a good place to stage an ambush?"

"There wheels seem to have trouble with the sand." Baki said. "They will want to avoid it whenever possible. There are some canyons in between Suna and Kairuio, and they will probably want to use them as a kind of road. I know that there actually used to be a road there, but it eroded a long time."

It was pretty much a guarantee that Gaara was going to lead his ninja back to the Land of Wind to fight the Smoke. It was also a guarantee that Iifernati were going to help them, and Gaara was not going to discourage people so willing to fight for his home. He was, however, surprised at how quickly Tsunade was willing to commit her people to a cause that was not her own. But she was.

"I want the veterans from the last war to go with you, along with some of the younger ninja." Tsunade said. It made sense. The younger generation had never been in a war. Sure that had fought in several battles, some of which were actually pitched battles. But they had never been in a lengthy war.

She was about to say something else when there was a loud boom.

"What now!" The Hokage bellowed in anger. She looked out the window and her eyes bugged out. "Why is there a building running towards my village?"

"What?" Gaara went over to the window and his eyes widened about a fraction of an inch. "That's Suna's theater…why had it suddenly sprouted legs?"

"Really? So it actually does have legs?" Jhimey was at the window in an instant, peering with unabashed interest. "I thought that was just a story!"

Tsunade glared at the theater that was striding towards her village. One of the legs appeared to be dragging, as if it could not quite coordinate itself. The result was a bizarre hopping gait.

"It's a gigantic puppet." Gaara said. "I've seen enough of Kankuro's work to tell. The entire building is just a gigantic puppet!"

"It's going to crash right into my village's wall!" Tsunade was rather more interested in the fact that they were going to have a collision rather than the fact that there was a puppet building walking towards them looking like something that just crawled out of a storybook.

Fortunately it did not actually crash into the village wall, but, as the thing tilted crazily to the side one of the buttresses did scrape at the side of the wall, leaving a long scratch. The dragging leg folded beneath the building, and the front two splayed forwards, while the fourth stayed in the ready position. The result was a theater just leaning on Konoha's poor defenseless wall.

The wall groaned in protest.

There was a long pause in the Hokage's office.

Finally, with a small sigh, Gaara turned toward the door. "I'll go see if they are alright in there. Those are my ninja in there."

Tsunade nodded. "We can finish this later."

* * *

The theater had already attracted a line of gawkers. None of them had ever heard of a building that could walk, and most of them were trying to decide if this was scary or just plain goofy.

Gaara arrived and at first did not really know what to do. He knew the place was rigged with traps, Kankuro had always bragged about the traps in the place. In the end Gaara just decided to go up to the door and knock. Kankuro had never mentioned anything about killer doors, at least not on the outside of the theater.

Before he could even raise his hand the door opened and a very disgruntled looking woman glared out at him. He recognized her. It was Gin, a woman who used a dragon puppet, a basilisk puppet, a chimera puppet and a manticore puppet. She was glaring at him. Gaara did not know why.

"Could you kindly buzz off?" She growled. "We are having an issue here."

"Is anyone hurt?" Gaara asked.

Gin snorted. "No one you would care about."

"So someone is hurt?" Gaara asked again. "We should get any injured to the hospital-"

"It's just Sticks, and what is he to you?" Gin sneered. "He's nothing to you, so leave him with us. We can take care of him better than your kind can!"

"Gin, we are both ninja here. You know as well as I do that Konoha has the best med nin around. If Sticks is hurt then-"

Gaara had a feeling that the irritable woman was about to blow up in his face, but then another person kind of shoved her to the side. "Gin, stop before you piss him off." The man turned to Gaara "Sorry, she gets defensive of her fellows. Sticks is fine. It's just a bit of chakra exhaustion."

Gin, not about to let it go when she had Gaara here in ranting distance, started to snap at him long distance "He operated on whole leg by himself and helped with the last! They usually take five a piece! He did the work of seven puppeteers and still you and your council refuse to-"

The man at the door solved the problem by stepping out of the doorway and closing it on Gin's face, which resulted in a protesting squawk of anger.

Gaara sighed. He of course knew about the situation with Sticks. He knew that the poor man, who should have been made a jonin long ago was still stuck a genin. Gaara had read his father's notes, and all that pertained to this particular issue was rife with what Gaara could only describe as paranoid ramblings. It seemed like the Fourth had been under the impression that since Sticks had been Sasori's last apprentice that somehow implicated Sticks in Sasori's crimes, and the Fourth had refused to promote Sticks despite the fact that the man was an excellent ninja and probably one of the more powerful puppeteers. Gaara, mostly out of loyalty towards his brother, who he knew got sneered at for being trained by a genin instead of a jonin, had tried to give Sticks his proper rank, but the council had blocked him at every turn. Red tape was the bane of his existence.

"Is Sticks going to be alright?" He asked the man, who he did not know that well.

"Should be alright, he just needs to rest. And Gin will calm down eventually, she just gets…passionate about our people." The man said. "I'm Akio."

Gaara nodded. "Is there any way you straighten the theater? I am not sure if Konoha's wall can hold up to this."

Akio glanced at the wall "We might have to wait a bit. Everyone is exhausted from that, not just Sticks. It had been centuries since the theater was moved."

Gaara nodded. He knew that the puppeteers were an older organization then the ninja, and some say they even predated the Gelel Empire and the Iifernati tribes. Sticks, while still only a genin, was also high ranking in the puppeteers. Sometimes it was hard to balance the two, but Gaara had always tried to treat the puppeteers with respect. After the way he treated Kankuro it was the least he could do.

"I would like to talk with Sticks when he is recovered. We need to figure out what to do aobut the Smoke, and I would appreciate the help of the theater."

Akio nodded. "Yeah, I know. You don't need to worry. The Guardians have already said that we will help, so we will."

Gaara mentally shivered. Despite the fact that he had spoken to the disembodied voices of the Guardians a few times he always found them slightly spooky.

All of a sudden he heard hoof beats from somewhere. Gaara turned his head just in time to see a grey horse rush past, a slightly ruffled looking Hinata clinging to her neck. A few moments later a black horse rushed past, and then the Lord of the Hyuga Clan followed, on foot at ninja speed.

Gaara sighed. Great. What now? "Excuse me."

Akio nodded. "Yeah, I have a feeling that you are going to be busy today, right?"

Gaara nodded, and wished once again that Kankuro and Temari were here.

* * *

Hinata was at first, frankly terrified. She had not expected Zeera to attack her father then bolt like that. She clung to the horse, knowing that falling would be painful. Surprisingly the ride was actually a bit smoother when the horse ran, though still incredibly horrifying.

Finally, once Zeera had ridden out of the village, the horse began to slow down and stopped. Hinata, not wanting to be on Zeera if she wanted to bolt again, slid of the horse and pretty much fell on the ground. The horse snorted and nuzzled her in a concerned manner.

Hinata looked up as another horse slid to a stop with a whinny. Katsu jumped of her own horse and rushed over to Hinata. "Hey, you alright?"

"I think I am okay, but why did she bolt like that?"

Katsu looked troubled. "It's-"

At that point Hiashi finally arrived. Angrily he shoved past Katsu with a glare at the Iifernati Horse Mistress. As far as he was concerned Katsu was completely responsible for this, and if his daughter was hurt then it was her fault. Unfortunately as soon as he approached Zeera snapped at him.

"Hinata! Calm her down!" Katsu bellowed.

Hinata gave her a confused look. "What?"

Katsu looked almost furious. "I can't do it now, not while you are here."

Hiashi turned to Katsu. "What are you babbling about? It is your animal! Keep it away from my daughter!"

"You fool! Do you think that Iifernati horses are just dumb beasts! They are far more intellegnet then that! More intelligent then anyh other horse! Do you have any idea what has just happened?"

"No." Hiashi growled. "Explain."

"Iifernati horses will bond with certain tribesman when they are ready. Zeera has chosen Hinata. I don't know why, but she has. I can't control her as well now, not while Hinata is giving her all those signals."

Hiashi looked from Hinata, who was not moving, to the horse, which was practically glaring at him, and Katsu, who still looked pissed.

"What signals?" Hiashi growled.

Katsu decided to talk directly to the problem. "Hinata, horses can sense fear. I don't know why you are afraid of your father," Hiashi made a strange grunting noise. "But if you keep sending fear signals to your horse she will keep trying to defend you, ergo she will keep trying to bite him."

"I'm not afraid of him!" Hinata said.

"Really?" Katsu glanced at Zeera, who was still glaring at Hiashi. "Then why is she being so defensive? I know the signs. I have been raising horses for years and I know how they react. Trust me; she is trying to defend you."

"But she doesn't need to!" Hinata said. Zeera nickered and nudged her again.

"See? She is reacting to your emotions." Katsu said. "Just calm down and your horse should as well."

Hinata almost had another panic attack. It was hard to calm down when Hiashi was standing there just glaring. Katsu was right. Hinata was a bit intimidated by her father, especially when he glared. But she didn't want Zeera to keep snapping at her father either.

She took a few deep breaths and calmed down. Deciding that the best way to handle this was to walk towards her father and stand between Zeera and Hiashi. Zeera's ears kept flicking back and forth, as if she was confused.

Katsu sighed. This was bad. Zeera was reacting to Hinata! Katsu had wanted to get the poor girl out of her shell, but she had not expected this to happen!

This was so, so bad!


	35. Chapter 35

An Author's Note: Please note. This story is not meant to offend any ethnic group in this story. I am not writing this to make a statement about colonialism or anything like that. I am just pulling a bunch of themes and ideas from various historical and fictional sources (an internet cookie to the people who can name all the stuff I am going to be shoving into this!) To drive the plot and make a fun and readable story that entertains the masses…all five of you. While there are themes here (but I am not going to tell you them, that is the job of the reader) I am not setting out to a make a statement of any kind.

Just thought I might want to mention that.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Something Familiar

Zanne Kur had lived in the jungles south of the Madhor Empire (what the Shinobi of the Sand called the Land of Twisting Vines) for twelve years. Then the Madhorian came and enslaved him. The only thing that kept them from proceeding further into the jungle was the vines…

In many ways this place was not bad. There were none of the Green here to eat you, but at the same time the place stank to the heavens. There was food here, but he had less freedom here then the dog that ate the scraps off the master's tables. Zanne missed his old life, but Moreel was not one of the bad Madhorians, so he tolerated this place. Moreel did not care if Zanne believed in his ancient traditions, though the man had made it clear that he thought the slave was bound for a bad end after death. Zanne didn't care that the tubes he was making were being used to enslave more people. What did he care for Shinobi? It was not as if they had rushed in to help his people. Heck, Zanne was not sure if the mysterious shadow people knew about his own. It did not matter. His people were gone, and all Zanne had was himself. He had enough on his plate surviving to care about politics.

Now, however, Zanne was being asked to do something…different. Zanne hated different. Different meant trouble.

"What precisely do you want to know about him, Master?" Zanne asked. He spoke perfect, if accented, Madhorian. Simple survival.

"Anything about his past. Particularly his childhood. Parents, friends. Anything Zanne." Moreel was pacing around. He seemed nervous and upset. Zanne did not care. He thought his master was mad, but that did not matter either. A mad order was still an order. He knew he had to do this, but he didn't want to.

After being dismissed by Moreel Zanne sighed and went to lunch. The free laborers got to eat in a separate cafeteria, while the slaves got their own. It was a testament to his wealth that Moreel could do this for his workers. He had always said that well fed and well treated workers worked better. Zanne, thankfully, had nothing to compare it to.

Zanne spotted Rock Lee in a corner, eating the meaty mush they were served as food. The weird thing seemed to like it! Unbelievable. The other slaves seemed to be avoiding the new one like the plague. Zanne was not surprised. Lee had learned their language quickly enough; Moreel made sure his slaves knew the local tongue. It made certain that there were no misunderstandings. Lee had learned it and now pretty much spoke it, but he kept spouting some weird babble about "youth" or something like that. He scared the slaves. Badly. Just because Lee knew the language did not mean he understood the people, nor did they understand him.

Zanne sighed, and began to do his duty. A few of the other slaves gave him odd looks, because Zanne was not known to be friendly with the newer slaves. He had been here a long time, and was given some respect from the slaves because of that. It was odd to see him reach out to another. A few of the slaves began muttering amongst themselves, obviously shaken by this. It was odd, and the slaves did not like odd.

"Hello." Zanne said, trying not to sound to sullen.

Lee looked up and grinned at Zanne readily enough. It had always been in his nature to be nice.

It made Zanne's skin crawl. People should not be that cheerful.

"Hello." Lee replied. His accent was even worse than Zanne's and it was hard to listen to. Worse was the concentration on Lee's face. It was obvious that the boy was trying hard to concentrate on the words so they came out right. This annoyed Zanne for some reason. He didn't really know why, but it did.

Zanne sat down and studied the boy. There was something familiar in the shape of the boy's eyes and face. Zanne had seen a face like that before, but he could not remember where.

Maybe Moreel had not been mad after all.

"You are a Leaf shadow person?" Zanne asked. The boy just looked so open. He must be some kind of fool. He would trust a fellow slave.

"I'm Rock Lee, just a Leaf villager." Lee smiled. He was not about to tell anyone here that he was a ninja, and yes he knew that was what Zanne had meant when he said "Shadow person". Lee was not a fool, and though these people were in the same boat he was he was not going to tell them anything, at least not yet. Even if they were sincere people who knew what horrors a Smoke would put a person through if they suspected that a ninja was among the slaves? These people had not had the training Lee had, and he was not going to put them at risk. If the Smoke suspected a ninja in the ranks then innocent slaves would get hurt.

"What is the difference?" Zanne asked.

Fortunately Lee had thought of a cover story. It was close to the truth. "A ninja can use chakra and jutsu. I cannot." That was true. "I help out at the orphanage that I grew up in." Lee knew that a lie closest to the truth was the best kind of lie. He knew about orphanage more than anyone else, and he could make it sound like he worked there. That was one of the first things you learned at the academy, and though practical jutsu had been impossible for Lee, he had no particular problems with written tests. True he was technically a close range melee fighter. Not many thought that he could pull off spy missions. However, just because Lee preferred to handle issues the most direct way possible that did not mean that he did not know how to be subtle (or, as subtle as he could be, given that he was him). He could if he had to; he just hated to do it.

Zanne's ears pricked. This boy really was a fool! "Orphanage? You don't have parents?"

Lee's face did not betray his suspicion. Why did this slave want to know about his past? Did it have something to do with the odd looks their masters had been giving him? For a moment he considered clamming up, but then he had second thoughts. As long as it did not involve ninja why not tell them about his past. There must be reason for the asking, and Lee wanted to know what. It might relieve some of the boredom he had been feeling.

"I never knew my parents. I grew up in an orphanage." He did not mention the fact that the moment he had hit the right age he had speed straight for the ninja academy. It had always been his desire to be a ninja. The matron who ran the place had encouraged Lee from day one. "Why do you ask?"

Zanne stared at Lee some more. Now he was certain. "I've seen you're face before." He said.

Lee blinked. "That cannot be. I was born and raised in the Leaf village!"

Zanne smiled. It was not a pleasant smile. "You just said you have no family. How do you know where you were born?"

Lee blinked again. That was a good point. He had always believed that his parents had been of the Fire Nation, though he knew nothing about them. Even his name, Lee, had been given to him in the orphanage. The "Rock" part had also originated there, a nickname given to him for both his stubborn nature and his steadfast heart. He was totally loyal to his nation and to his village. He lived and believed in the Will of Fire with all his soul. He had thought that at the very least he had been born in the land he loved. He had never considered that he might be from another Nation. He did not even know how he ended up in the Village in the first place. It had simply never come up. Lee always looked towards the future of things. The past never really interested him that much.

"I suppose I do not." Lee replied.

Zanne was quiet now. He was studying Lee's face again. Yes, Zanne had defiantly seen a face like that before. He tried to remember. It must have been a long time ago…and it must have been someone Moreel had known as well. Obviously the master had known the person with the new slave's face….wait!

Could it be?

Was this new slave…one of _hers_?

* * *

Later, Zanne was called back to Moreel's office.

"Well, have you learned anything?" Moreel asked.

"He's an orphan, Master." Zanne said. "He never knew his parents."

"That was quick.'

"He is a very open boy." Zanne decided to take a risk. "Master, I was only a young boy, but I remember. I remember the day that the foreman let that woman go. I remember hearing that she had two children, a little girl and a baby boy. I can remember the rumors concerning yourself and that woman. Is he-"

Moreel glared at Zanne. 'This is none of your business, Zanne. Just do as I say and let me worry about the rest!"

Zanne didn't mention the fact that since Moreel had basically ordered him to spy on the boy then Zanne was already involved. But now he was remembering more and more about the incident. The little scandal that their master refused to speak of even now.

Zanne could remember though.

And he had a feeling he knew who this Rock Lee's real parents were…

* * *

Shikamaru now hated horses.

A lot.

Specifically he hated their stables in all their smelly glory. Horse manure is not what you would call a fragrant scent. In fact, it was horrible to smell and be exposed to. The owners of the manor had a lot of horses, in fact they had far too many horses then they could possibly use in Shikamaru's humble opinion. Because of this the smell was everywhere, and Shikamaru began to think that he was going to have to live with the stench for the rest of his life.

The beasts of the Smoke themselves were not bad, just a little bit dull and…well stupid. Shikamaru was used to animals like Kiba's Akamaru, or his own family's deer. These were animals that were just as smart as humans. Most could talk, though few actually did (Shikamaru had always been convinced that Akamaru was smart enough to talk, but just did not for whatever reason). Heck, even those weird Onbaa creatures that stuck themselves to the collective backs of the Leaf villagers that one time had a certain degree of intelligence to them (though you would not have guessed that by the comments Neji had made about the one that ended up attached to him. Neji was not really an animal person in general). But here in the Smoke the animals seemed collectively dumb and slow. Even the dog, a creature that Shikamaru always thought of as rather smart as he really had only dealt with nin dogs in the past, seemed somewhat stupid.

Shikamaru wondered about that. Why did this land seem so advanced technologically when compared to the Leaf or the Sand, but their animals seemed so slow? And it was not just the animals. There was something off in the air of the Smoke. It was not just the pollution that had spewed into the air; Shikamaru had dropped that theory when he and Temari had left the pollution behind, only to find that the feeling persisted out here in the country. It was hard to describe. It felt like something was missing. That something had been taken away from him, and there was nothing there to replace it.

However, worse than the manure, worse the dull eyes of the horses, worse than the feeling that something was terribly and irreparably wrong in the air, was Urik. The man seemed to run these blasted stables (Shikamaru had no idea what he was officially called and frankly did not care)! That would not have been so bad, if Urik did not insist on making frequent lewd comments about women in general and often Temari in particular. Despite Shikamaru's evaluation of women being "troublesome", he had always treated them with respect, at least when it came to the physical side of things. He hated to fight them or be around them when he was younger, but he had never made "comments" about them. It was just not right, and in Shikamaru's mind real men did not behave that way. For one thing they should be able to control their hormones (the fact his hormones had been hyper lately at the thought of Temari had occurred to Shikamaru, but at least he was trying!). Urik had all the self control and attitude of a randy goat, and it was starting to drive Shikamaru insane.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that he had let that first comment Shikamaru had made about shoving the whip down his throat, Urik was a freeborn servant, and as such that whip was not just for show. Nor was it just for horses. Shikamaru had proof of that when one of the other stable slaves tipped over a bucket of grain and had gotten whipped for his clumsiness. Shikamaru did not know why Urik had let that first comment of his go, maybe you got one get-out-of-a-punishment-free-card with him? If so Shikamaru had wasted his. This made Shikamaru extra cautions around Urik.

Urik was going to be a problem, even without the disgusting personality. The man was watching Shikamaru like a hawk. Though the man was trying to be stealthy it was obvious to a ninja what Urik was trying to do. In fact, there were a lot of nosy people in this estate, so much so that neither Temari nor Shikamaru could make a move against them, not yet at least. But, that was alright. While Urik was unpleasant the rest of the stable hands seemed nice enough, and Shikamaru made a point to be helpful to them, even though it was against his nature. He was going to cultivate friends here.

Soon enough it would be time to formulate a plan against the enemy, and Shikamaru wanted to have resources.

* * *

Temari had found a simple solution to the dog riding problem, and quite and ingenious one, if she did say so herself. She had caught the little brat, Timius, and tied a rather heavy sack to his back. Then, she told him that if he wanted the cookie that Temari had snagged from the cooks, he was going to have to crawl around the room with the sack. Timius thought that this would be great fun, and made the attempt. About three seconds later he was bellowing about the weight of the sack.

"Well then," Temari said "How do you think that poor dog feels when you ride him? And I bet you don't even offer it a treat!"

Timius paused and thought about this. "You mean I should give the dog a bone after I am done?"

Temari tried not to laugh. It was a pure Kankuro response, right there. "Why don't you ride a horse? There were plenty out in that stable."

"Urik won't teach him." Nere said, briefly looking up from her book. "He is always busy. So unless you happen to know anything about horses…" Nere's tone was full of scorn.

Temari resisted the urge to smack her. Smacking would probably get her smacked. She had no illusions about this. She might be in charge of the kids, but that did not mean that she could whatever she wanted with them.

"I know plenty about horses." She replied. Her aunt was the Horse Mistress of the Swooping Eagles, and while she had never been as enraptured with her ancestors as Kankuro, she did love her extended family and visited the Eagles whenever she could. Katsu had taught her the basics, and Temari was decent with the animals.

Timius' eyes lit up.

Temari smiled. "I might be convinced to teach you…if you are good."

"I can be good!" Timius said.

"Nice to hear that. You can start by getting a rag and cleaning up your mess."

"But that's slave work." Timius squinted at Temari.

"But it's your mess. Aren't you man enough to clean your own mess?"

Timius stared at her in astonishment.

"What is the matter, boy? Are you scared of a little work?"

Timius shook his head "I'm not scared of anything!" He rushed off in search of cleaning rags.

Great, one down…

Temari looked up at the chandelier where the third triplet was perched. "Why look there!" She said in astonishment. "There's a large bird up there! Where is my sling, I'm going to knock it down with a rock and eat it for dinner!"

Serius squeaking in fear "I am not a bird!"

"Only birds perch on roofs." Temari said. "You can't be anything other than a bird if you are up there!" She licked her lips and gave the boy a hungry look.

"No! No! I'm a boy!" Serius scrambled down in a hurry, convinced he was about to be eaten. "See?"

Temari smiled at him. "So you are. Better not do that again. I might mistake you for a bird!"

Serius nodded.

The mistress of the house kept looking at Temari. Temari could not tell if she approved or not. In the end the older woman nodded and turned away. Temari breathed again.

Serius, meanwhile, decided to bug Nere. Temari let him for a bit. That was the job of brothers, after all.

Now she took a little time to study her charges. Both were brown haired, wide eyed children. Actually…

Temari had seen faces like theirs before…

But where…


	36. Chapter 36

Chapter Thirty-Six

Voices of the Dead

Neji was thankful, because once again the Fourth was not in this memory. Neither was Baki. In fact, Temari and Kankuro were alone, climbing the cliffs above Suna. They had stopped beside a small cave and were peering into it.

"I don't see why we're doing this." Young Kankuro grumbled as he followed his sister into the cave. "The Eluue Vara are years away."

"Yeah, but who knows what they will throw at us." Temari replied. "Especially if we have to do it with Gaara."

Kankuro shuddered. "Him, take the Trials? Please Temari. He's not human. The Trials are for men!"

Temari slapped him lightly on the head "What have I told you about that pig talk?"

Kankuro winched. "Not to?"

"That's right. Stop it or I'll blow you off this cliff. Or just leave you in the cave."

"You know I didn't mean it like that!" Kankuro grumbled. "But you know what I meant."

"I know." Temari still looked peeved. "But you need to stop referring to Gaara as a monster."

"Why? He kills everything he sees for no reason at all? Have you forgotten Baki's sister? She just dropped a jug and that sand…" Kankuro shuddered.

"All the more reason for you to stop calling him names." Temari said tersely. "If he takes offence to jugs dropping what do you think he would do to name calling?"

Kankuro nodded. "Okay, a point."

"Eventually we are going to have to work with him, you know that. So you might as well break that habit before he breaks your spine." Temari grumbled.

"Gah, it's going to be awful!" Kankuro said. "Have you seen him recently? He acts as twitchy as a squirrel when he's not glaring at everyone! And the way he looks at you! Like he wants something! So far I've narrowed it down to the blood of virgins or the souls of the damned!"

"Kankuro." Temari looked strained. "He's our brother!"

Kankuro shook his head. "He kills people."

"So have we."

"Not our own villagers! Not innocent people! We've killed invaders and bandits, threats to our home! Gaara kills the people we are supposed to protect." Kankuro was glaring at Temari now. "He's no brother of mine! He would not kill our people if he was!"

Temari sighed. To Neji it looked like she was giving up. "Just stop calling him a monster, a demon and a fiend. Oh, and please no more of that 'crazy as a shithouse rat' phrase you are so fond of."

"Hey, it's accurate."

The two went deeper into the cave. Neji started to follow, but right before the entrance he seemed to strike something. A force, invisible, but like a wall in front of him.

"What is going on?" Neji muttered.

_Some memories are too painful, or to precious, to share with another unwillingly._

Neji turned and blinked. There was a bird sitting on a rock. A bright red bird of prey, like an eagle or maybe a large hawk. Its eyes seemed almost sad.

Neji stared at the bird.

The bird stared at Neji.

_Oh honesty, boy, are you not in the least bit curious? _The bird said after a while.

"I…am trying to think. This is a memory. So far everyone here has been a memory. None of them have talked to me, and I have guessed this is because they are like a recording. But…now you…"

The bird laughed. It did not open its mouth, but seemed to transmit thoughts. _I_ _am not a memory, at least not like the ones here. I am a memory in the sense that there are people who remember me, but I am not around for them to remember any more. A living memory of the dead, if you will._

Neji blinked. "Are you a ghost?"

A long pause. _Oh, I just can't think of anything clever now…yes that it accurate enough._

"Who are you?"

_Karura._

"…"

_Temari, Kankuro and Gaara's mother._

"So…why are you haunting him?"

_I am not. I watch over all of my children. All of them._

"So…wait…if you are here and I am here…wait…"

_Boy, stop overanalyzing. It will only hurt your head._ Karura said.

Neji stared at her. "I haven't seen you here before."

_Like I said, I watch over all of my children, but the other two need me as much as Kankuro does. Perhaps he needs me less. There is another watching over him._

"Who?"

_The Wolf._

"Do you mean the thing that turned him into a monster?"

_No, the one who turned him into a monster was not the Wolf. The Wolf simply watches what needs to be watched. She has no control over what others do with her Power._

Neji sighed. "Why can't I see what it going on in there?"

_Come boy. Is there nothing in your past that you did not want others to see? Things so close to your heart it would tear it to pieces if another learned of it?_

"I suppose there is.'

_See, you understand_.

Another long silence, then.

"If-if you watch over Kankuro and his siblings…then…

_I cannot speak to him directly. Not as I am now. Just as the one that follows you. _

Neji's eyes widened. "What?"

_There is one with you. One who has always been with you, but you cannot see him. He watches as I do, and he…_Karura stopped_. It is not my place to say._

Neji was frustrated. This was just getting more and more confusing. And now the memory was fading out again, probably switching.

_Before you go, let me say something else._ Karura said. _Tell my son that my brother lied. I never cursed Gaara, nor did I curse Suna. Yashamaru was disgusting snake, but none of us could see it until it was too late! I love all of my children, and what my brother said were nothing but lies meant to hurt my sons and daughter. Tell him!_

Neji nodded. "Alright."

_And Hyuga?_

"Yes?"

_Tell Kankuro his father is not here yet._

* * *

Another of Kankuro's memories. This time back in Suna. The boy was perched precariously on a roof, peering at a street performance of puppets. There were quite a few of the puppets: a young woman swopped and soared while controlling a big dragon puppet. A puppet that seemed primarily composed of blades whirled and spun like a whirlwind. More of the things danced and preformed for the crowd that had gathered in what Neji was assuming was a kind of village square.

Neji thought it was amazingly creepy, but Kankuro's eyes were wide and thrilled. He was practically bouncing with glee. Kankuro was watching the hands of the puppeteers very carefully. Most of Kankuro's concentration was focused on the signs the puppeteers were making.

Neji then noticed the small bamboo snake at Kankuro's feet. Carefully the boy crouched down and held his hand over the puppet. Little chakra strings formed and tried to stick to the little snake. Kankuro tried to move his hands like the adult puppeteers, but all he could mange was to make the thing's head wiggle slightly.

"Ya know, there are better ways to do that, mate."

Kankuro jumped a mile. He turned around, as did Neji. He remembered that voice. Sure enough, it was Sticks.

Sticks gave Kankuro an odd look. "You are Hajeem's son, yes?"

"Hajeem?"

"The Fourth. His name was Hajeem."

"Oh…I didn't know that."

"Most don't. He does not use it that much." Sticks said.

"How do you know it?" Kankuro asked.

Sticks yawned. "Most puppeteers have at least two masters. Those that teach them how to be a puppeteer and those that teach them how to be a ninja. I know Hajeem because he taught me how to be a ninja."

"But…my father hates puppeteers."

Sticks eyes narrowed. "Sometimes a master and a student do not end up friends."

Kankuro frowned. "Who was your puppet trainer?"

Sticks was now outright glaring at Kankuro now. "I would rather not say."

"Oh…" Kankuro stared at his little puppet snake.

After a while Sticks sighed. "Look, you are moving your hands wrong. Way to stiff there. Loosen up or your puppet will be just as stiff. Here…" Sticks leaned forwards and started to help Kankuro out.

"Kankuro, what are you doing!"

The reaction was immediate. Sticks jumped away from Kankuro like a man on fire.

Neji cringed. Him again!

The Fourth jumped on the roof with a snarl and drew his sword. He leaped in front of his son, and for a second Neji thought that the man looked like he was trying to protect Kankuro. The Fourth swung his sword, but stopped it about an inch from Sticks' nose.

Sticks did not move an inch. "Hello my Lord." He said in a voice that one might have used to address a rabid dog.

"What were you doing to my son?" The Fourth growled.

"Nothing, I was just showing him something." Sticks said, still acting calm.

"Dad, it was my fault. He was just showing me how to-"

"Be silent!" The Fourth turned on his son. "Do you have any idea what could have happened! Don't you know what they are capable of? Haven't you ever listened to me?"

While the Fourth was ranting at Kankuro, Sticks was backing away slowly. Then he jumped away towards his fellow puppeteers. As if they sensed something amiss they kind of formed up around him, and Sticks disappeared amongst his people.

The Fourth glared at the spot where Sticks had been.

"Dad, i-"

"Kankuro, I how many times have I told about the last great puppeteer?"

"Sasori, he killed people and used their bodies to make puppets. You banished him years ago for it."

"Yes, that man was taught by Sasori." The Fourth said "He is not to be trusted!"

"But if he is on Sasori's side…"

The Fourth laughed, it was an almost crazed sound. "Oh, he claims he knew nothing about it! And his order will protect him." The Fourth stared at Kankuro. "Why were you watching them?"

"I…I…"

The paranoid look came back to the Fourth's eyes. "You...why are you trying to learn their ways? How could you?"

"Father I-"

The Fourth was backing away from Kankuro now, giving him a look that one would normally give a poisonous snake. Before Kankuro could say anything else the Fourth was gone again, and Neji could have sworn he was muttering something about traitors.

"He's a paranoid nutcase." Neji muttered.

The last thing Neji saw of this memory was Kankuro's sad look as he watched his father walk away from him.

* * *

Kankuro sighed. Again he was in the Hyuga compound. He thought that if he ever had to go to the place in the real world he would be able to navigate around with little or no problem. The place was kind of a maze, but after a few nights of being dragged around the place as Neji sulked after his cousin was enough so that Kankuro had a basic idea of where he was going.

That was an advantage.

Maybe.

Apparently Neji had been called to his uncle's room. This was going to be unpleasant. Most of Neji's memories of Hiashi were. It was annoying. The man spent most of his time awkwardly ordering his nephew around and carefully not looking at him. Kankuro thought that must be the shame that was doing it. How could a man help kill his own brother and not feel shame when faced with that brother's son?

As he predicted, Hiashi looked mildly uncomfortable when faced with his nephew, who managed to perfect a nice bland facial expression.

"You will be attending the new semester at the ninja academy tomorrow." Hiashi was saying. "As a branch member you must be prepared to protect the family. The only way you can do this properly is to be become a ninja."

Neji nodded. Kankuro thought that the kid might be happy about this, seeing as how he hated the Hyuga compound and hated following his sister…er cousin around.

Kankuro yawned as the scene shifted. Kankuro guessed that this was the next day, at the ninja academy. Kankuro groaned. He could not think of anything more boring then following around a kid in the Konoha academy! It was bad enough observing them the first time!

While the instructor babbled on and on about using chakra, a subject that Kankuro had been taught when he was freaking five. How did Konoha mange to churn out exceptional ninja by not only starting later then Suna but by being so much easier on their young then the Sand? It made no sense to Kankuro.

Kankuro noticed a little kid sitting near Neji who kept screwing up his face in concentration as he struggled to follow the instructor. Poor kid was having a lot of trouble.

A few painful hours later the kids were released to a kind of recess, which Kankuro could not help but think of as pointless. The instructors just let them run around and play! They did not even try to incorporate their games into some kind of training, as Baki had done for him and Temari.

Really, how did these people produce the greatest ninja on the planet! It made no sense!

Neji, true to his solitary nature, found a corner to sulk in. A few minutes later the kid that had been concentrating so hard in class approached him, completely ignoring the glares Neji sent his way.

"Hello," the kid said. "Why are you sittign alone?"

"I want to be alone." Neji grumbled.

"Why?"

"I just do."

"Oh…you are a Hyuga. Am I right? My name is Rock Lee. Who are you?"

Kankuro started. Wait…this kid was Lee? Kankuro looked closer at the kid that was bugging Neji. He did not look a thing like Rock Lee. The bowl cut was not there. Instead his hair was long and braided. His Guyish green…thing was not present. Though now that Kankuro was paying attention he recognized the eyes…and the hairy black caterpillars above said eyes.

Rock Lee found a ball from somewhere and batted it towards Neji. "You should not be alone like this!" The boy grinned happily.

Neji glared at him and batted the ball away in disgust.

Rock Lee ignored the glare and tossed it back. Neji sighed and seemed to give in. He kept an annoyed expression on his face, but he was playing.

Kankuro chuckled.


	37. Chapter 37

Chapter Thirty Seven

Animal Issues

Tsunade glared at the list of ninja available for this…er…"mission". She was avoided saying or even thinking the word war. It was true that she wanted a few veterans of the last war to go, but actually finding said veterans was going to be harder then she first thought. Quite a few of them were dead, and those that were not were backing away from the idea of going to war again rather fast.

There was another complication, of course. She could not send to many ninja with to the Sand, not as many as she would have liked. There was still the threat of the Akatsuki out there, as well as whatever the traitor Uchiha was planning. The ANBU had reported that not only had Sasuke killed Orochimaru and Itachi, but that Sasuke was now working with the Akatsuki. Though they had not launched any more attacks, there was still a possibility that they would once Tsunade sent ninja to fight a war. She needed to keep her bases covered.

In fact, she was going to have to a little bit of team rebuilding anyway. The "Konoha 11", as they were being called, were the best people to send. After all, Rock Lee, Shikamaru and Neji were their comrades, and Tsunade had a feeling that if she did not assign them they would go anyway. Asuma's team had proven that! Plus, it would keep Naruto from barging in here demanding that he be allowed to go. Annoying little punk! She had already decided to keep Ino and Choji on Guy's team (and it was good thing that Guy had, in fact, fought in the Third Great Shinobi war, although you could not really tell from the way he acted. He had shown almost no post-traumatic stress after it, which was odd and actually a bit worrying). Team 8, on the hand, had no one to lead them with Kurenai pregnant.

Who should lead them, then? Kakashi was being reassigned to his old team. She felt like she would need as many of the ANBU here to keep up the flow of information from their so far useless spying on the Akatsuki. Beyond that, she knew that Kakashi would want to keep his students under his eye if they were going to war, something that probably made him nervous. Not that Tsunade could really tell. It was hard deciphering Kakashi's feelings at times.

But who to assign to Kiba's team…

She would have to think about this.

* * *

Hiashi was now really regretting letting the tribe into his compound. Not only did they eat just about everything in the place, but now one of their evil natured horses had attached itself to his daughter! Unbelievable.

Eventually Hinata had managed to calm down Zeera, who was still looking at Hiashi balefully. Hiashi thought that only nin cats could give you that particular mixture of disdain and dislike in one glance, but apparently an Iifernati horse could do it as well.

By the time Hinata had finally gotten Zeera to stop glaring at Hiashi, Gaara showed up looking harried and vastly irritated. He took one look at the glaring horse, the still fuming Hyuga lord, his aunt and the fidgety Hinata and blinked.

"What is going on here?" He asked.

Hiashi, who badly needed someone to blame for this, decided that he was going to blame both Katsu and the Kazekage. It was either that or get bitten or stomped by the horse.

"Your aunt's animal kidnapped my daughter! And it keeps trying to bite me!" Hiashi said in his coldest tone of voice, which could probably be used to power refrigerators.

"Excuse me? My horse did not kidnap anybody. You came in stomping like a hippopotamus with a toothache and scared her!" Katsu snapped.

"Wait…why is the horse biting?" Gaara tired to remember what Kankuro had said about Iifernati horses. All he could remember was something about wings…

Katsu sighed. "Listen to me, please, because I am getting really really tired of repeating myself. An Iifernati horse…is kind of like your ninja animals. They are very smart and sensitive creatures. Most of them while fixate on one certain tribesman and bond with them, and Zeera here has chosen Hinata has her rider."

Gaara blinked. "Isn't that bad?" He remembered Kankuro saying something about Iifernati being very defensive of their horses.

"It bites, of course it is bad." Hiashi glared at the horse, which glared right back and stamped.

"Zeera won't bite Hinata." Katsu said. "Now, if you keep shouting and acting like a buffoon, then she might take a chunk out of you."

Hiashi stared at Katsu "Did you just call me a buffoon?"

"I said you were acting like one." Katsu replied, now grinning evilly.

"I do not want that thing in my house!" Hiashi said.

"Well, first of all they don't live in houses; they usually have these things called stables. Perhaps you have heard of them?" Katsu said with mock sweetness. "Second, my tribe is not going to like it either. City squa-er…city people are not supposed to be given Iifernati horses, much less a ninja from another land."

"Then take it home." Hiashi said through gritted teeth. He was losing the last of his patience.

"I would, but that would be like barging in one of your ninja dog clan's homes and taking their dog away. Zeera…wouldn't react well to it."

Hiashi was about to tell the irritating woman that he did not care how sad the stupid horse was going to be, he did not want that thing around him or his daughter! But then he remembered a certain woman and her son, and how attached they were to their annoyingly large hairy smelly dogs. He had seen how attached they were to the animals, and if these horses reacted like Inuzuka dogs…

"Well shit." Hiashi grumbled.

Hinata completely forgot to be nervous and looked at her father in astonishment. "Father…did you just swear?"

Hiashi, who by now was probably more stressed then he had been in a long time, did it again.

For some reason Hinata found this extremely funny.

* * *

The Hyuga leader was not the only one who was stressed by his guests. The entry of the Aburame clan was in a state of uproar. Only those who were used to the Aburame's subtle changes in mood could have seen it, but the frequent annoyed buzzing that frequently erupted from their dwelling clued the rest of the village in to the mood.

The bats and their handlers had been banished to the other end of the house, as far away from the bugs as possible. The Aburame were not trying to be rude, but at the same time it was the only way they could get any peace. The bats apparently thought that the Aburame were walking talking snack bars, and would flap about their heads squeaking in delight whenever they encountered one of these movable feasts. This did not please the bugs. At all.

Unfortunately this forced segregation did not always work…

This became apparent that morning, when Shino was awaked to someone frantically calling "Lucky! Lucky! Where are you, you little fuzzball!"

This could not be good.

Annoyed, Shino looked around, keeping his bugs as close inside of him as possible. He did not want them to be munched.

Eventually he found one of the bat handlers peering into a pot as if looking for something. Shino had a feeling he knew what must be lost.

"Lose someone?" He asked.

The bat handler jumped a mile. "Er…yeah. Lucky is missing. Stupid thing never listens to me!"

"…Lucky?"

"Yeah, he does this a lot. Gets into places he should not. Lucky to be alive, is what we call him. Ack! Gremlin, Stripe! No!"

Shino stiffened. To little bats had emerged from the boy's collar and looked like they were going to pounce. He was never going to think unkind thoughts about Akamaru again! Dog drool and hair were nothing compared to the hungry looks he was getting from…Gremlin and Stripe? This boy had weird names for his critters.

Shino knew he would not be able to relax as long as Lucky the bat was wandering around his home eating who knew what, so he volunteered to help look for it. It would have been alright if the remaining bats had just stayed hidden, but they kept sticking their noises out of their handler's clothes and sniffing at Shino.

Shino distracted himself from the hungry looks by talking. Okay, this was Shino, so it was more like an interrogation, but it was better than having to concentrate on those beady little rodent eyes.

"How many are in your clan?" Shino asked.

"To be honest, we aren't a clan at all. There are no clans in Suna after all." The bat handler said as he looked behind paintings. "He can slip into the strangest places, so look everywhere."

"I assume that your people were once part of a clan before they went to Suna." Shino said. "I have heard how Suna got ninja in the first place."

"Yeah, Toshi the Fatherless, I know that story." The bat handler said. "But the first bat handler of Suna…well he was not a wronged family man. He was a bandit that was thrown out of the Land of Lightning. He…wasn't a nice man."

Shino stared at the bat handler. "Did he join of the tribes?"

"No, he operated alone, except for the kids he stole."

"Stole?"

"How else was he supposed to pass his jutsu down?"

Shino stared at the bat handler some more. "He stole children in order to pass his jutsu down?"

"Yeah."

"…and how did you end up with bats?"

"Oh, I like bats. It's not the same now. Now bat handlers will still search for a kid who might be able to handle bats, but the kids have the choice now. I did it because I like them."

Shino shrugged.

At that moment Shino's own bugs started to rattle in alarm, and a total of four bats stuck their heads out of their handler's clothiers and started to lick their lips.

Shino glared at the bats "How many of them do you have?"

"Five."

"I think my bugs sense your friend."

"…that can't be good."

Shino felt a kind of internal tugging. The bugs were not coming out, but they could still guide him. He felt like he needed to go to his room…

Sure enough, the moment he entered his room he heard something crunching. He opened one of his bug habitats and a small brown bat poked his head out, a bit of beetle shell dropping out of its mouth.

Shino felt his bugs actually cringe.

"Oh Lucky…" the bat handler sighed.

"It…is not as bad as it could be." Shino said grumpily. "These were not rare species. I can easily get more." Shino noticed the four other bats staring at Lucky with big sad eyes and dropping ears. It was pathetic.

"Please, get them something to eat. I don't want to lose any more bugs." Shino said. As if agreeing with him, one of the bats (Shino thought it was Gremlin) stomach gave a little grumble.

The bad handler scooped up his wayward bat and placed it on his shoulder, where it migrated to his ear and hung there by its feet like a large fuzzy brown earring. "That's probably a good idea. I can't tell you how sorry I am about this."

"…just go."

"Right…" the bat handler turned to leave, then paused for a moment. "My name is Zirru."

"…Shino Aburame."

As Zirru left Shino sighed over his lost bugs.

He defiantly preferred dogs.

* * *

"That Sasuke is a terrible whiner." The Runemaster grumbled to Cragga as they watched the aforementioned traitor as he ranted at the one called Madara. The Runemaster's rune covered mirror, a thing that practically glowed with the power of his kind, could be used to spy on others. The Akatsuki, arrogant and foolhardy to the Runemaster's eyes, had no idea they were being watched.

Unlike most before him, the Runemaster was no impressed with Sasuke Uchiha. The boy's power was nothing special. What good was knowledge with no effort? A waste of time! Spoiled brat! And apparently the childish creature did not like the fact that his new "allies" had stopped their advanced to grinding halt. "This is the boy your Orochimaru took on as an apprentice?" the Runemaster snorted "A broken down mule would be a better apprentice!"

"Hmmm, he does seem rather easily led…perhaps that is why…" Cragga shrugged as she gazed into the mirror. "He is raw power, but no brains. Oh there is plenty of book intelligence, but no wilyness. There may be something there…but…"

"Cragga, he has the Demon's eyes! A cursed bloodline! He has all their qualities! Selfish! Lazy! Foolish and arrogant! How could one of Them…"

"Ah! Add that to the list of questions, my Runemaster!" Cragga grinned. "Keep the pack in line; I am going to visit our old friend Kabuto!"

The Runemaster snorted. "I can't see how that will help. The snake is dead! What good is the snake's dog now?"

Cragga chuckled. "Don't you know, old friend? Even a dead snake still has venom."


	38. Chapter 38

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Hiashi has a Nervous Breakdown

Hiashi had been angry enough at the idea that he might have to play host to a horse for the rest of his life, but his irritation at Zeera was nothing compared to the mild explosion that occurred when they got back to compound (Gaara included, as he felt that he needed to try and defuse this before something else went wrong). Needless to say something else went wrong.

Jhimey, who had heard from his tribe that their Horse Mistress was doing something odd with the Hyuga heiress and one of the horses, had turned up at the gates. He was also being rather annoying and distracting with his constant pacing and grumbling. He was making the two guards, both branch members, extremely nervous.

When he saw them coming he took one look at Zeera and Hinata and seemed to recognize something. His gaze shot to his wife, who clenched her jaw and nodded curtly at him. Jhimey's eyes bugged out and he started to mutter something.

"Ho boy. He's going to explode. Excuse me; I need to go defuse my husband. Don't get involved." Katsu swung onto her horse and galloped towards Jhimey.

Jhimey's way of greeting was…unexpected.

"What have you done! What is that Leaf doing with one of our horses! Have you gone mad!" Jhimey bellowed.

Katsu leaned forwards on her horse and slapped him. "Shut it! I don't control who they bond with! Don't you shout at me!"

"And you are telling me you didn't see the signs! You the Horse Mistress! Are you blind then!"

"Didn't I just tell you not to talk to me like that!" Katsu bellowed.

"I can talk however I want! I'm the Huur!"

"And I am your wife! You don't talk to me like that!"

"I sure as hell do!

"You sure as hell don't!"

They walked away back to the tents, still arguing.

The ninja all stared at them.

"They are very loud." Gaara finally said calmly.

"Extremely." Hiashi said in almost the exact same tone.

In the distance they could see several Swooping Eagles vacating the premises, not exactly running, but defiantly moving away from the general area with some haste.

And that was when the rocks started flying.

With a snort Zeera gave Hinata one last little nudge, glared at Hiashi one last time, and trotted over to a group of horses which someone had given a bale of hay to. Hinata was secretly relieved that Zeera seemed a bit more independent then Akamaru seemed to be with Kiba.

Hiashi was looking at his daughter, extremely troubled, even though he did not show it. Was that wild woman right? Did his daughter really fear him that much? Sure he was stern with her. He had to be. He was a ninja and she was ninja. Even for the relatively kinder Leafs the life of a ninja was not one for the weak. He was stern because he knew that his daughter had to be strong to survive. For most of her life Hinata had shown shyness and reluctance that Hiashi knew was unacceptable for their kind of life. It was unacceptable for a ninja, and certainly unacceptable for the future leader of an influential clan. He had tried to discourage the shyness, but it seemed to make it worse. He was cruel at times, but what if someone attacked her like the Cloud ninja had done? What if next time they succeeded? Yes he had said to Kurenai once that he didn't care if Hinata died during training, but what was a little white lie when you were the Lord of the Hyuga clan trying to hint to your daughter that she needed to step up to the plate? But, but, now this crazy tribal cousin of his was telling him that his daughter was terrified of him? Had he somehow aggravated the situation?

It could not be true.

Could it?

A horrible thought then occurred to Hiashi. If that horse really was somehow channeling Hinata's feelings, and if horse hated Hiashi so much did that mean that Hinata hated him just as the horse did?

Hiashi was not sure even he could live with that possibility.

Without looking at either Gaara or Hinata, Hiashi turned away from his own home and walked off. He was not sure he could even look at it. For some reason the thought of the place was making him sick.

Where had he gone wrong? Was it the day he decided to overlook Hinata in favor of Hanabi? Should he have kept focusing on the older daughter? Or would that have just made it worse? Or was the problem further back? Should he have insisted on taking Hizashi's place? Could he have sealed of his own Byakugan and gone instead of Hizashi? He should have! Hizashi should have been clan leader! He was always the stronger of the two brothers, even without the Gentle Fist style! Stronger, faster, better, Hizashi was better in every way when compared to Hiashi!

Hiashi's thoughts kept whirling on these self destructive paths for hours as he just wandered around the Leaf village, earning stares and whispers as he went. He didn't even hear any of it. He was too busy feeling sorry for himself.

It was getting pretty dark out there, and Hiashi had wandered pretty far. in fact he was quite a long way from his home. A simple one story building caught his eye.

Hiashi recognized this place. A long time ago, before everyone he knew hated him he used to come to this place with his genin team. Him, his brother (who did not hate him at the time, in fact when they were genin Hizashi and Hiashi were quite friendly with each other), and Tsume. Their leader had been a rather large, intimidating shinobi called "Ogre" Maito Ogre, Guy's father. They used to be his friends, but something happened when Hiashi began to take on more of his responsibilities as leader of the clan. When he was learning clan leadership from his mother, which took up a lot of his time, his team had become more and more distant, and eventually it was like he barely knew any of them anymore. Hizashi hated him, and he never really figured out why, and Tsume refused to talk to him. He never found out why that was either. Ogre was the only one who treated him the same way, but Ogre was very much like his son in that manner (the biggest difference between the two being that Ogre was not as cheerful and had a tendency to refer to everyone as "shrimp", even his own son). Before Hiashi's mother's instructions on how to be a good clan leader he had practically ran wild. Part of it was Tsume. She was what his mother called a bad influence. It was her who introduced him to this place when they were of age.

It was a bar.

"Of age" for ninja was different than normal village people, as it was thought that if a kid could wield chakra, play with sharp knives and kill people then they were plenty mature enough to handle alcohol as long as their sensei was present. And Ogre had no problem with it. Encouraged it, even. He was kind of strange that way.

It had been years since he had been here.

Maybe it was time to get reacquainted. He would get no piece at home!

Might as well.

* * *

By about four o clock Hinata was terrified for her father. The noises from the tribe's area had gone from shouting to a series of strange noises that Hinata could not decipher at all. And, frankly she did not want to decipher it. In the end she decided to let the Iifernati take care of themselves. She, on the other hand, was going to look for her father. He had looked very odd when he had walked off, but she had been so concerned about the flying rocks and the screaming, not to mention the pots and pans that came later, that Hiashi's odd behavior had been thrust in the back of her mind.

Now, however, she was concerned for him. Despite the fact that she feared her father she did love him, in a kind of abstract way. She had always thought of him as a kind of unmovable mountain or a statue. She had never seen him act this way before. But, then again the situation was ore then odd. Despite the slew of servants in the Hyuga compound, the family was somewhat secluded and the place was usually quiet, as the servants knew how to be invisible. The only thing remotely exciting around here was the occasional political meeting and the training. However, it occurred to Hinata that this was the first time their home had been basically invaded by, let's face it, half wild tribesman. These people had rampaged into the compound and almost took it over. Add the horse incident to the that, and the fact that the Iifernati seemed to hold the Hyuga in absolutely no respect, then maybe it was not totally unexpected that Hiashi be a bit unbalanced by all of this.

Only one thing to do now.

Hinata had to find him.

Hinata headed for the main gate and nodded at the two guards, who were staring up at the wall with great suspicion.

"What are you looking at?" Hinata looked up. "Oh." It was Maro. For some reason he had decided to climb up the wall and was perched up there. Odd.

"He's been up there for hours." One of the guards said through gritted teeth.

"I am not going back to the tent with those two throwing heavy objects." Maro said calmly. "Or even when they are not. They can get rather disgusting when they make up."

Hinata nodded, and tried not to think about what Maro might mean by "make up". She turned to the guards. "I am going to look for my father." The two guards nodded.

Maro stared at Hinata for a brief moment, and then jumped down off the wall. "I'll go with you."

The two guards grunted in unison.

Hinata stared at him. "You hate my family." She noted.

Maro shrugged. "True. But if you are getting one of our horses I want to be familiar with the person getting her. I am not leaving a good horse in a stranger's hands. Best way to cure that is not to be a stranger."

Hinata shrugged. "Fine." She didn't see any flaw in that argument. Heck, Kiba would probably act the same way to a stranger getting an Inuzuka dog.

"Maybe one of us should go." A guard growled at Maro, who glared right back.

"No, it will be fine." Hinata said. If she did not at least try to get Maro to settle down…well it was worth a shot.

Maro gave her a surprised look, and started to follow Hinata.

So, for the next few hours, Hinata searched the places she would have expected her father to be which were upper class places benefiting a Hyuga. The search was helped with the Byakugan, but since Hinata had a shorter range then her cousin she had to walk around a lot. Maro did not, could not, use the Byuakuan, and he seemed to spend more of his time watching Hinata then looking for Hiashi, but Hinata did not let that bother her.

Two hours later and Hinata still had not found her father, and now she was starting to panic. She decided that she had better check every cranny of Konoha, just in case Hiashi was in some sort of trouble. She had no idea what kind of trouble that would be, as she was half convinced that her father was invulnerable, but…

Where could he be?

"Why, young Hinata, what are you doing out so late?"

Hinata turned. She had seen Guy approaching, though she had pushed it to the back of her mind as unimportant. Guy was not her father, and that is who she was looking for.

"H-hello Guy-sensei." Hinata stuttered. True Guy was not her sensei, but he was a teacher and her cousin's sensei. She did not know him as well as she knew Kurenai, but the man had a tendency to drop in on the Hyugas at odd times to check on Neji. Hinata did not really know why, but he did, so while Hinata did not know Guy well she did know him. The most they had interacted with each other was once right after the chunin exams when he had actually come to her hospital bed to tearly apologize for Neji's "unacceptable unyouthful behavior" (coincidentally nearly finishing the job his student started by almost giving her a heart attack). Two other times she found herself in temporary teams with some of Guy's squad. She remembered when Naruto, Neji and Tenten had gone to the Land of Birds she and Shino had found themselves paired with Guy and Rock Lee. Hinata had come from that mission a nervous wreak, and Shino had sulked for a week. Neither of them could handle the presence of both of the Leaf's green beasts. The next mission that involved Guy was a bit better, but not by much, mostly because that time it was with Neji and Kiba, no Rock Lee. While Guy had not been as startling with Rock Lee around to act as his chorus, she had spent the entire mission warily watching her cousin and waiting for a kunai in the back. Kiba had almost been as tense, glaring and growling at Neji every time he came close enough and Akamaru had shown his displeasure by chewing Neji's shoes and marking inappropriate places. Hinata was certain she had never seen Akamaru smirk as much as he had during that mission, and yes Hinata was convinced that the dog could smirk.

"H-h-have you s-seen my father? H-he is m-missing." Guy and Rock Lee had a tendency to bring out her stutter almost as much as Naruto, not due to attraction, but because they were both…so…them. "I-I've been everywhere he usually g-goes b-b-but I can't find him." She could feel Maro hovering nearby, staring at her in surprise. He had not really talked to her that much, and the speed in which she had gone from normal talking to nervous stutter surprised him. Fortunately for him Guy was not even looking at Maro. That was fine by him. Guy did not look like someone eh would want to talk to anyway.

Guy looked a bit startled at the news of Hiashi's disappearance. "Hmmmm, really." He actually looked thoughtful, a strange look for the normally jumpy and hasty Guy. "I wonder."

"H-h-he also swore. Later today." That, more than anything, was bothering Hinata a lot. Her father never swore, and right after that the look on his face was so odd. And now there was that thoughtful look on Guy's face, almost as if he was thinking about something.

"Do you know something?" All at once Guy's almost knowing look raised Hinata's suspicions, enough to eliminate the stutter.

Guy looked startled, as if the stutter lack had thrown him off. "Well, it has been years, but maybe! Yes! Do not fear, little one! I think I know where he might be" and now there was that blinding teeth thing. "You go home and relax, it will all be fine!"

That was way too convenient. Hinata could not help but be suspicious of this. As Guy whirled off, heading in the opposite direction, Hinata felt a surge of courage. This was her father, after all!

"Wait!" The courage surge had pretty much swept the stutter away "How would you know where he could be! You don't know him!"

Guy slowed and actually sighed a bit. "Actually, I do. You know that ninja will often train those whose parents were their teammates or sensei?"

"Yes, that is why Kurenai was chosen as my sensei. She was trained by my father before he became the Hyuga Lord."

"Indeed. Well, Hizashi, your uncle was my sensei before he died, and for a couple of years after that Hiashi took over my training. That is why I took Neji. And, before that, my father Ogre trained both your uncle and your father. He told me a few things. Now, I take it that Hiashi was upset today? He does not have a youthful spirit, and the Iifernati seem quite the hot-blooded bunch! No doubt he is overwhelmed. I have a pretty good idea of where he might be from the stories my father told me."

"Oh…that makes sense…"

"Go home, Hinata." More grinning and now Guy was doing that strange thumbs up. "I will find him."

Hinata was not about to do that. But, she was a ninja to. She agreed, and then when Guy had rushed off she and Maro followed at a distance.

* * *

Gaara had found a nice spot on the Hyuga's roof to look at the stars. It was something he always did every night, even after he lost his demon. He liked looking at them, though he did not know why. Perhaps it was their constancy. Even here he could look at his favorite constellations. Yes the expanse was not as magnificent with all the trees in the way, but they were there.

Gaara heard a scrambling and looked to his left, only moving his eyes. He did not quite groan as he saw his uncle climbing up. He was not in the mood tonight, but then again he was never in the mood for uncles these days. They had a tendency to explode around him.

As Jhimey got his balance on the roof Gaara ignored him. Perhaps if he pretended Jhimey was not there he would go away?

"Hi Gaara." Jhimey said. Gaara did sigh a bit there. So much for that idea!

Gaara ignored Jhimey.

Jhimey, to Gaara's irritation, did not take the hint but sat down beside him. Not to close, but close enough to talk. Gaara was determined not to communicate with his uncle. Not a word.

For about thirty minutes the two did not speak.

"Shall I guess why you avoid me like I am a plague victim?" Jhimey finally said.

Gaara said nothing.

"Funny thing, nephew. I bet you think I am like Yashamaru, am I right?"

No response.

"Strange that a boy that should know enough not to judge so harshly should do so. After all, you are the one Yashamaru used to call a monster. He said it all the time, you know? Said that when you were young that you used to chase the children around with your sand and try to hurt him. He said that you loved to see others in pain." Jhimey shrugged. "I didn't believe him. You always seemed like a normal child to me. You were quieter than your brother and sister. Kankuro was a fussy little kid. Drove your mother nearly bats. And Temari was all over the place when she learned how to crawl. Your parents had a devil of a time getting her away from the furniture. You, however, were always well behaved. I can't say I was there all the time. I do have a tribe to take care of. You know what it is like to be responsible for an entire group, don't you? Still, Hajeem believed Yashamaru before he would even try to listen to me. I was his brother, but big brothers rarely listen to younger brothers, right? Interesting thing, that. We are both the younger brothers. Our line usually has children in threes. Supposedly it's a sacred number, kind of like how the Night Owls will only let the seventh son of a seventh son become their Arrl. People like numbers, for some reason. Anyway, I had a big sister to, just like Temari. She was the middle child, though, and Hajeem was the eldest. He wasn't a bad brother, you know. By the time you were born he was becoming more and more paranoid. There is a reason for that, but I bet you are not even interested, are you?" Jhimey's voice was getting more and more angry. "It's still so funny! Here you are, and people called you a monster, but deep inside you were a just a little kid with no friends who had been hurt by those you loved, but you won't even give me a chance. And you won't even listen to me! I can sit here all night and tell you why your father became a paranoid nutcase and you will just sit here like a rock! Damn it!"

Jhimey got up and swung down off the roof. "Why do I bother?" He muttered as he went down.

Gaara stared at the space that Jhimey had once been, feeling horrible. He had not wanted anything to do with his uncle. It had never occurred to him that he was doing the exact same thing to Jhimey that had been done to him for years. He had judged his uncle before he had even met the man.

Maybe he needed to change that.

* * *

A/N: And I better stop there before someone breaks out the emo music or something.


	39. Chapter 39

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Sneaks

Every week the slaves at Moreel's factory got a day off to do whatever they wanted. They were even given a small allowance. Not enough to actually buy anything substantial, and they had to account for the money at the end of the day or face consequences, but it was enough to buy themselves a decent meal or two or maybe buy a little trinket for themselves.

Rock Lee could only marvel at the man's brilliance. By making his slaves happy and content Moreel could almost guarantee their loyalty. Rock Lee was not sure that they would rebel when they had it so good. That made it a bit harder for Lee, but he knew he had to try to find a way to defeat the Smoke.

However, since he had no idea on how to begin such an endeavor, and having no word from Shikamaru or Temari, Rock Lee allowed himself to be distracted by the question of the strange slave Zanne who had seemed so interested in him.

One this break day Zanne was going somewhere, looking very determined and purposeful. Rock Lee was following him. Rock Lee did not know why Zanne seemed so interested in him, but Lee wanted to find out.

So, Lee followed Zanne through the strange cobbled streets of the city. Zanne actually seemed to be in somewhat of a hurry, and kept looking around as if he somehow sensed Lee's eyes on him. Lee, however, knew one of the basic rules of sneaking. Go somewhere high. It was amazing how most people did not look upwards for danger. It was something taught young to ninja. Always look up, and always go up. Though Rock Lee could not stick to the roofs like his fellow ninja he was fast and agile enough to jump from roof to roof with little effort.

Rock Lee could not help but notice that they were getting into nastier territory the further they went. The buildings were becoming more and more ramshackle and run down. The place was even filthier. It was almost more than Lee could stand.

Eventually Zanne came to a small building with a strange red symbol on the door. Rock Lee leaped onto the roof of the building and sneaked over to the edge and listened closely. He heard the sound of the door opening and a woman's voice.

"Come back later tonight. We aren't open for business." The throaty female voice said.

"I am not here for the women; I want to ask you something."

A long silence, then "You don't look like Watch…How much money ya got? Information will cost you as much as the rest of it."

Zanne dickered with the woman. Eventually he gave them a few coins and asked his question. "A woman named Audalia used to work here about seventeen years ago. Black hair and eyes. About twenty five. Do you know what happened to her?"

"Idiot. You think I remember every girl that pops in and out this house?"

Zanne sighed and forked over more cash.

"But now that you mention it…" the woman paused. "Yes, I do remember her. Seventeen years ago she was working, and a carriage went out of control and ran her down. A foreign woman was there and tried to do some strange nonsense on her, but thankfully the ambulance got there and took her away in time. They took her to the hospital a few blocks away. I remember that the woman went with them babbling something about medical something or other. Non jotsue are something like that. I remember a few hours afterwards a man came looking for. A client of hers I suppose. He looked well to do, if you know what I mean."

Zanne thanked the woman, rather grudgingly due to his lost funds, and walked off briskly, heading for the hospital the woman mentioned. Rock Lee waited until he heard the door closing, then prepared to jump to the next roof when the door opened again. A young boy rushed out, looking frazzled and rushed down the street. To Rock Lee's surprise the boy ducked down into a sewer manhole like a rabbit into its warren. Rock Lee could not help but be curious about this, but he could not be distracted. He needed to follow Zanne. So, gathering his legs beneath him he leaped to the next roof and swiftly caught up with Zanne.

The hospital was a huge all white building. Rock Lee's keen nose detected the scents one normally associated with hospitals. Except for the lack of chakra in the building, something that Lee associated with the Konoha hospital, it seemed a lot like an ordinary hospital. Lee shadowed Zanne as he entered the building, using the crowd and his own keen senses to guide him.

Zanne approached the front desk and asked to talk to the record keeper. The desk clerk told him the room to go to, and Zanne headed off. Rock Lee followed at a distance, making sure to look as if he had every right to be here. That was another handy little skill taught by ninja. If you acted as if you knew where you were going, and that you belonged, then it was unlikely that you would be stopped.

A few twists, turns and staircases later, Zanne arrived at the records section of the hospital. He approached the desk there and Rock Lee slipped in. He grinned broadly. It was a full of shelves with books and file cabinets. Perfect for climbing! Rock Lee stealthy climbed up a shelf and edged his way to where Zanne had gone. Zanne had found the record keeper, an elderly woman with a stern and disapproving gaze.

"Hello, I am looking for information on a patient that was brought here seventeen years ago. A woman named Audalia Fantuen."

"Why do you need this information?" The woman glared suspiciously.

"For my master." Zanne tapped the manacle on his wrist that indicated that he was a slave. "I don't know why he wants to know. I am sorry."

The woman glared at the manacle and sniffed haughtily, but started to ruffle through the files. "I recall that case. I was just starting as an assistant nurse then. Miss Fantuen was run over by a carriage. Massive internal damage and bleeding. Another woman came in with her. A strange blonde foreigner and a little girl. Ah, here is the file! Let's see…"

"What can you tell me about the foreigner?" Zanne asked.

The recorder snorted. "Some sort of madwoman. Kept claiming that she could heal the patient with a touch! Ah yes, we had her sign this form as a witness, but it is in this damn shinobi barbarian scribble. I think it translates as Tsunade Senju of the Leaf, or something like that."

Rock Lee froze. _You fools!_ He thought. _Had you let Lady Tsunade work on that poor woman she might have lived! But, if Lady Tsunade…_

But the recorder was continuing.

"The patient kept screaming about her children. Something about getting money to the people taking care of them. The foreigner said she would go get them and thankfully she and the little girl left. They never came back. Only good thing they did. They might have been lying to calm her down, but it worked. She died five minutes later. About two hours later two men came in about the same time. One was a man named Moreel Tumas. He was frantic, looking for Miss Fantuen. The other was Miss Fantuen's brother, a Lieutenant Fantuen. They argued and Mr. Tumas left in a rage. That is all that is in the file."

"Do you know anything about her children?" Zanne asked.

"We have no records of a Miss Fantuen ever having any children in this hospital so they were not born here. As I said, we never saw the foreigner again, so we don't know if she found them or not, or what she might have done if she did find them. For all we know she might have run off with them to put in a stew or something. All we have is a notation, a record of what Miss Fantuen was screaming. 172 North River Street. Hayluee's Antiques and Pawnbrokers. I can only assume that she left her children in the care of the owners."

Zanne thanked the woman and left the room. Rock Lee; however, was to stunned to move for a good ten minutes. Lady Tsunade had been here? He had to go to that address before Zanne did. He was no longer content to just listen! He had to know what Lady Tsunade had done here! Thankfully there was a handy window near his shelf and it was open. As soon as the record keeper had gone back to her files Rock Lee had jumped out the window and vaulted to the next roof. He had only a basic idea of where he was, but he knew that at the speed he could travel he could find the place with little trouble. The city was big, but Lee bet that this shop was not in the more fancy areas. All he had to do was search the run down parts!

At ninja speed Rock Lee speed over the roofs of the city, looking at numbers and signs until he came to North River Street. Only now did he jump off the roofs with a soft plop. It was not as bad a street as the ones he had just left, but there was still a sense of desperation in the air. Rock Lee could not help but wonder if he was the only one who could sense it.

Rock Lee walked slowly form building to building, looking for the pawnshop. He finally found it. It was a two story building with a large window in front. The name of the store was scribbled on the window in bright blue letters. There were objects in the window, plates and china cups and a little spinning carousel with faded paint and a horse with a broken neck. Rock Lee could hear a little tune playing in the background even through the glass.

There, looking into the window of the shop and hearing that little tune, Rock Lee felt something stirring in his mind. Something only half remembered and buried so deep he did not even know it was there. He shook his head and forced himself to open the door.

There was a man at the counter, an older man with a sour look on his face. He glared at Rock Lee as he came through the door. Rock Lee could feel another pair of eyes on him, other than the man's, and he pretended to look around the shop. There was a teenage girl in the corner sweeping the floor. She was staring at him, wide eyed and almost fearful.

Was it just Lee's imagination or was there a flicker of recognition in both the man's and the girl's eyes?

Rock Lee walked over to the man, ignoring his glare. "Hello." Rock Lee greeted warmly and with as much politeness as he could fit in his tone. "I have a few questions."

"Unless it is about the merchandise I aen't interested." The man glared.

"Oh, but, it is about someone who used to live here. Two children of a woman named Audalia Fantuen."

The man's eyes widened in shock, and now Lee knew that this man knew about her. "I've never heard that name before in my life!"

"You have." Lee said calmly. "Your body language is a giveaway. What happened to the children?"

The man growled and pulled a gun out from behind the counter. More shocked at the fact that the man had gone for a weapon so quickly Lee backed away.

"Get out of my shop before I kill you!" The man screeched like an ill banshee. Lee was sure he could have disarmed the man before he could any harm, but if he did then he might blow his cover, so he backed out of the shop. The man slammed the door on Lee's face and locked it with a resounding click.

Lee sighed. "I wish Neji were here…" Neji would have figured out a way to get the information! Neji was much better at the whole "subtle" thing.

Lee's eyes fell on the carousel in the window again. For some reason he felt entranced by the thing.

_I have seen that before…but where…_

As he struggled to remember he heard a door opening and shutting from a nearby alley. Afraid the man with the gun was coming back he started and prepared to flee.

"Mory? That is you, isn't it?" A quiet voice called from the alley.

Suspecting a trap, but too interested to care, Lee peered into the alley. It was the girl from the shop. She looked scared and jumpy, and she kept looking at the door leading back to the shop in the alley, as if she was afraid the owner was going to come bursting out.

Lee approached her "I am sorry, but my name is Rock Lee of the Leaf Village." He said.

The girl's eyes widened "Leaf Village. Do you know a woman named Tsunade?"

"Yes, she is the Hokage of the Leaf Village." Lee replied.

"Did she…oh we can't talk here! Not with my father around! Can you meet me in Triad Park later tonight? Around twelve midnight?"

Lee hesitated. It meant escaping from the factory and sneaking around at night, when slaves had no business wandering about.

Lee grinned, his teeth sparkling in the sunlight "I would not miss it for the world!"

* * *

The slaves at Northpoint manor were forced to sleep in a communal building that reminded Shikamaru of the stables, except instead of stalls they had wall to wall bunks. Absolutely no privacy or anything else. This made it easy for the Smoke to keep track of the slaves. It also made it almost impossible for night snooping.

However, they had not counted on ninja.

"You ready?" Shikamaru muttered in Temari's ear. The two of them had been assigned a single bunk. This was actually advantages to them. They could spend the enter night whispering plots in each other's ears the people around them would assume they were just talking like a normal couple would.

Temari nodded slightly. Shikamaru could tell she was tense, and he had a funny feeling that this was more due to the fact of his closeness then what they were doing tonight. Shikamaru decided not to think about that. He needed to focus.

A quick hand sign later and the two of them preformed a fast substitution jutsu, and they were replaced by a pair of logs transformed to look like them. Shikamaru and Temari ended up in the bushes just below the window leading to the lord of the manor's study window.

"Alright, let's go." Temari said and she started to climb up the side of the manor. Shikamaru followed her.

"Why do you think they grow this nice handy ivy on the sides of the buildings?" Temari asked.

"Don't know, but they make pretty good handholds." Shikamaru said.

They made it to the window and Temari slipped a little knife she had swiped from somewhere and jimmied the window open. Slowly in case the thing wanted to creak, she opened the window and slipped inside. Shikamaru followed.

Shikamaru waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Then, once he could identify the objects in the room, he sneaked over to the door and listened. Since he could not read the Smoke's chicken scratch language he was going to be the lookout.

Temari used the knife to jimmy the lock on the desk open and started to look through the papers. Shikamaru sighed and prepared himself for the long haul. Unless a guard came in for them to subdue it looked like it would be a rather boring evening.

However, Shikamru was wrong about that. It did not take Temari long to find something strange.

"Hey, come look at this." She mutted quietly at him.

Shikamaru walked over and looked at the paper she was holding. "Hey, that is our script!" he quickly scanned the paper. "Oh…no…"

Temari looked ready to kill something "That idiot! What is he thinking?"

Shikamaru glared at the paper. The words did not change. Ti was flowery and elaborate, but what is said was still clear. The Wind Daimyo, the man who Temari's entire family referred to as the feudal idiot, was in league with the Smoke. The proof was right there in front of Shikamaru's eyes. "He thinks that Smoke will just go away after taking care of the ninja? How could he think that?"

Temari snorted. "Yeah, he really thinks they will just go away if he gives them the ninja, and then he can run the country all by himself. But," Temari held up another piece of paper. "turns out that this is here because our new 'master' is a politician, and one of the few people here who can read our language. He translated the feudal idiot's basic message. However, from what is written here I don't think they plan to follow through with it. The messages say that they are going to go ahead and attack the capitol of Wind and replace the feudal idiot with one of their governors."

"We need to get word to Gaara somehow." Shikamaru muttered.

"Ha, leave that to me." Temari grinned and summoned Kamatari. The wind weasel appeared on the desk with a whoosh. "Kamatari, I need you to go and find Gaara, and fast." Temari quickly outlined the situation for the weasel.

"I got it, no problem. I know his scent almost as well as yours and Kankuro's." The weasel said. With another whoosh Kamatari was flying out the window and heading for Shinobi lands.

"Can he remember everything?" Shikamaru asked.

"He's good at memorization. I've been using him as a messenger when I don't have a hawk handy for years." Temari yawned.

"You alright?" Shikamaru asked.

"Aww, it's just those Smoke kids." Temari said. "I swear they are worse than Gaara about going to bed!"

"What's wrong?" Shikamaru asked.

"They've afraid of ghosts."

Shikamaru chucked "Ghosts?"

"Actually they call them the dark people. They say that they can hear them howling on the moors at night." Temari sighed. "And sometimes when they look out the window, like this one right here they can a shadowy figure standing out there and pointing at them and…oh…"

Temari had walked over to the window to demonstrate and looked out. She froze. Shikamaru at first thought she was joking around, but then he looked out.

There was a shadow there. Not a shadowy figure or a figure in the shadows, but a something that looked like shadow shaped as a human. Shikamaru could see glowing red eyes. There were no features, no face, just a pair of glowing red lights. Shikamaru could feel those glowing eyes on him. Staring. It wavered and shimmered, like it was not all there. Then it raised its hand and pointed straight at Temari and Shikamaru.

Then they heard the howling. It was not like the howl of the werewolf or the howl of a nin dog. It was lighter, airier and more ethereal. It seemed to vibrate into their bones and through the floor.

Temari hissed and leaped out of the building, with Shikamaru right on her heels. She didn't have her fan, but somehow she had managed to find more knifes from somewhere. Sure they were not proper weapons, but she hurled them at the figure anyway.

They passed through it, as if it was not there. Then, the apparition shimmered and blew away.

Temari ran over ot the spot where the thing had been. She retrieved her knives and looked around. Shikamaru came up behind her.

"No footprints. Not even a depression in the grass! That thing must have had no weight at all…" He muttered. "Do you think?"

"No way. I don't believe in ghosts." Temari growled.

"Then what was that?"

"I don't know, but it was not a ghost." Temari said with convention in her voice.

Shikamaru shivered. She might have been sure, but he was not. He could still feel eyes on him, but no matter how much he tried he could not sense any chakra.

None at all.


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

Overboard

Neji and Kankuro knew that the full moon was coming soon, and that they were not going to reach shore in time. Kankuro was going to transform regardless of what they did, and when he did it would be on a ship miles from land and full of nice crunchy people his wolf side would want to snack on. The only solution that Neji could think of was to use the rune, something that he hated to do. He did not like having to force another shinobi to obey him. However they could not have Kankuro run wild, so there was nothing else they could do about it.

They could not see the moon rising, but Neji had a watch and he was keeping track of the time. About eight or so the fur began to sprout and the fangs began to grown in, and all the while Kankuro kept his mouth clamped shut. They could not make a noise, because if they did they might alert the sailors to something strange going on. Neji could tell that this was hurting Kankuro, but he did not make a sound. Neji was impressed. While it seemed to be going a bit quicker and smoother then the last time Neji had seen Kankuro's transformations he could tell that it still hurt. Plus there was all that crunching going on. That could not have been pleasant.

Finally Neji was staring a fully transformed werewolf. Teeth and all. Neji was concentrating very hard on the teeth. They were very sharp.

He held the run in his palm. It seemed to burn slightly, it almost hurt, but not enough to make Neji drop it. He hoped that meant it was working. "Kankuro. Don't hurt anyone. No biting. No clawing. Nothing. Do not hurt anyone on this ship." The werewolf stared at Neji, his lips lifting in a snarl. However, eventually the wolf sat down on the floor and stared at Neji.

Neji breathed.

A few hours passed like this. Eventually Neji felt himself nodding off. He had not been sleeping that well, mostly because after the dream memories he always found himself waking up early and unable to get back to sleep. It was annoying.

In fact when Neji did eventually drop off to sleep he thought he was awake. He was actually having a regular dream, and for some reason his subconscious was wasting this opportunity and put him right in the room he was really in staring at a werewolf. Although wasn't it odd that Kankuro was, for some reason, eating a huge roasted lizard out of a dog food bowl.

"Do not let him eat the brains! They are bad for werewolves!" Rock Lee said. He was lying on the wall and doing sit ups.

"Where did you put the wolf chow?" Gaara said mildly. He was staring at his brother with a wide uncharacteristic grin.

"Up on deck. Here I'll get them." Neji got up and tried to fly through the ceiling, but for some reason he could not get high enough. He hoped that none of them noticed that he was not wearing his robes.

_What kind of handler are you! Wake up you fool before it is too late!_ Neji turned and started. A huge silver blue wolf was standing there glaring him. It stepped towards him with a growl. Neji backed away from the flashing fangs. He tried to look anywhere but the teeth and noticed something odd. The wolf didn't have a tail.

"Why don't you have a tail?"

_That hardly matters, boy. Wake up! Your werewolf needs you! Wake up!_

Neji opened his eyes. He groaned to himself. He had been asleep! He looked around and nearly had a heart attack. Kankuro was gone.

Neji shot out of the cabin and tried to figure out where Kankuro could have gone. It was then he noticed the smell. It smelling rather rank, almost like…Neji looked around and spotted the yellow wet spot on the floor.

"Oh don't tell me." He muttered. The last time he had dealt with this kind of thing it had been Akamaru. The dog was like an endless reservoir!

At least now he had an inkling of where Kankuro had headed. Grimacing at the smell Neji followed the trail, he turned a corner and spotted a bushy brown tail disappearing down another corridor.

"Kankuro! Kankuro!" Neji hissed. But either Kankuro did not hear or did not have to respond to his voice when he was not given a direct order. Neji was about to order one when he heard the scream.

Neji rushed over and turned the corner. There was a crewman staring wide eyed at the bipedal wolf standing there and marking the walls like nothing was happening. The crewman had a mop and a bucket and had apparently been cleaning the floors, but now he started to poke at Kankuro with the mop. Neji was sure that the werewolf was going to snap the man in half, but Kankuro just growled and moved to avoid the offending implement that was heading for his face. Neji leaped over and grabbed the mop and yanked it out of the crewman's hands.

"Stop! You'll piss him off!" Neji snapped. "Kankuro, get back to the room! Now."

Kankuro whined at Neji, but obeyed with a sullen look on his wolfy snout. Neji heard a strange sputtering noise and he turned towards the crewman. The man was pointing at him and babbling something.

"Look" Neji raised his hands. "Settle down."

"Nyboda!" The man screamed and ran away from Neji like a man on fire. While Neji had very little experience with the odd language the ship's people spoke he did remember that word. It was the word the captain had used to describe Gaara. Neji had asked Kankuro what it meant, and Kankuro had growled that it meant either "evil spirit" or "demon".

This was not good. Neji had a feeling that the sailor would not take well to a werewolf lurking amongst them. While Kankuro had been hiding in his cabin and being generally seasick Neji had been wandering around the ship. While he and the sailors had only a few mutually understood words between them he had come to learn a few things. It turned out that, a lot like Kankuro in many ways, they were somewhat superstitious. He had also heard a few rumors of werewolves, because apparently the sailors had heard to them. None of it had been good.

Neji rushed to the cabin and tried to figure out what to do. He could not speak the languages on this ship, the closest person he could speak to was the captain, and he was not sure about that man at all. At that moment he heard the sounds of a mob forming up above him on deck. Sure he had no idea what the chanting meant, but Neji knew the tone.

"Nice going, you couldn't have held it?" Neji hissed at Kankuro, who whined at him.

Neji heard the mob coming towards them. They were making enough noise that he could hear them coming a mile away. He knew they had to get out of there. Kankuro had not attacked the other man, but that did not mean he might go crazy at a moment's notice. They had to get out there. He grabbed both his own bag and Kankuro's puppet scrolls.

"Follow me. Remember, don't attack anyone." Neji glared at Kankuro, who whined at him. Neji opened the door and went in the opposite direction of the mob, with Kankuro right behind him. Neji knew that there was another stairway leading up to the deck. He and Kankuro rushed up the stairway. It was then that Neji noticed that the boat was rocking awfully hard right now. When they got up on deck Neji found out why. Apparently Kankuro had decided to transform in the middle of a storm. The boat was rocking and rolling with the waves, and there was rain falling in buckets from the sky. And what was worse was that the mob was coming up fast behind them. Worse yet there were more people on deck, and they saw Kankuro in his werewolf form. There was more screaming and running.

"What ees that?" The captain was striding towards them, looking thunderous. "You hiding a demon?"

"No, it's Kankuro. He-"

"He southern wolf demon. Me seen dem before. Beasts. Animals. They kill. Is that why you want passage? Going back to wolf home?" The captain was glaring at Neji. "You one of the wolf keepers, yes?"

"Look, he was turned into one a few months ago. We are only going to get them to change him back." Neji said. "There is no danger. I can keep him under control."

The captain smiled. It was not a smile that reached his eyes. "Well den…" the man seemed to turn to leave, but Neji could tell he was going to lunge at them. It was written all over his body language. Neji prepared to dodge.

He was right. With a surprisingly swift move the captain drew a rusty cutlass. But instead of cutting towards them, like Neji half expected he swung the blade at a rope tied to the ship. Neji looked up as a beam swung towards them.

"Look out!" Neji bellowed as he jumped over the beam, but Kankuro did nothing. He just stood there and tried to slash at the beam. Unfortunately it was too thick for even his sharp claws. Kankuro's claws bit deep into the wood and the beam continued to swing out and over the sea.

Neji turned to help Kankuro, but then felt the captain swinging his blade at his back. Neji turned a complete circle, caught the ill used blade in a kunai and flung it away with a casual flick. Neji snarled at the captain and slammed his palm into the man's chest, breaking several of his ribs. He had enough of the captain.

Neji heard a strangled howl. He turned and saw Kankuro hanging from the beam. Somehow he had detached is claws, but now he was slipping and sliding off the wet wood. With a start Neji realized that he could not use chakra, so he could not get a good grip on the wood. Neji sprang onto the beam and caught Kankuro's twisted pawlike hand.

He heard a strange noise, a banging sound, like metal. Neji looked up and saw a cannon pointed straight at them.

Neji snarled. He could not use his palm rotation while gripping a werewolf! He could try to use the Air palm on the cannon ball, but how well would it work on an inanimate object with no chakra points?

Only one way to find out.

Channeling all available chakra to his feet in order to anchor himself to the beam Neji raised a single hand and activated his Byakugan. He could see the cannonball in the cannon. He could even see the explosion as it formed inside the big metal tube. An earth shattering boom and the cannonball was flying towards him. He gathered the chakra in his palm and, for lack of a better term, shoved. Hard.

The cannonball hit the gathered chakra and bounced. Neji felt elated for a few seconds, but then he heard an ominous cracking noise. He looked below his feet and sighed in exasperation. The impact from the cannonball had been to much for the poor abused beam. It was splintering. With a loud snap the beam gave up the struggle and Neji and Kankuro were plunged into the heaving ocean.

Neji landed well enough on the beam, but Kankuro had finally slipped. He fell into the water with a startled yip.

He didn't surface.

Neji, now scared, dove into the water, still using the Byakugan. He could see Kankuro's outline sinking quickly.

_Can't he swim?_ Neji thought. He plunged downwards. He knew that he was going to have expend yet more of his chakra doing this. It was going to run out if he had to keep this up. However, he reached Kankuro and dragged him back upwards towards the surface. Neji aimed for the beam. He broke the surface and looked around. The beam was there. The ship was not.

Feeling like he should have left the captain with more than a few broken rigs, Neji swam to the beam and swung Kankuro up and onto the beam. The werewolf was shivering and whining in fear and perhaps cold. Neji concentrated hard. It was way to cold and wet out here. Not to mention the fact that there might be sharks. He had to find land. He focused his Byakugan in all directions. At the very edge of his considerable range he saw what might have been land. He had no idea if it was an island or the mainland, and right now he did not care. It was land. Neji used his chakra to propel them through the water as he pushed the beam to the island.

It was dawn by the time he could spot the island through his normal vision. He was exhausted. The drain on his chakra was exhausting him and making him feel sick and dizzy. But he had to keep trying. He was staring at the water, just concentrating on moving. On pushing harder and harder. He could make it. He…

Neji's hand slipped on the beam. He tried to fight to the surface and continue on, but for some reason his arms would not obey his commands. He was weighted down by his own bag and Kankuro's two puppet scrolls. He never knew that scrolls could weigh so much.

The water was so pretty. Was that a shark? Yes, but a small one. Brown. It was actually very graceful. Very beautiful. It swam so smoothly in the water.

A hand grabbed his collar and dragged him to the surface.

Neji gasped as his head broke the surface. His eyes stung from the salty water.

"Hey, relax Neji." The voice was not at all like it normally was, sneering and harsh. Instead it came very close to kind. Kankuro still sounded gruff, but a lot less then it normally was. "I'll take it from here. Get some sleep. I know how bad chakra exhaustion can be."

Neji yawned and closed his eyes. Yes. Rest sounded nice.

This time he had no dreams.

* * *

Kankuro tried not to look at the water as he channeled his chakra into the beam and pointed it to land. He did not look down because he did not want to know what was down there. He knew that Neji had been through a lot last night. He could vaguely remember the running and the screams and the fact that Neji had basically risked his life to protect him. It made him uncomfortable. He did not like owning a Leaf. But now he did. It was not that he did not like Neji. In many was he could see where Neji was coming from. That family of his was totally insane. However, he didn't like the idea that the only reason that he was starting to like the annoying snob was because of the dreams, and that made Kankuro uneasy. It felt forced. False. Wrong.

Kankuro shrugged the feeling off as the beam finally hit shore. With a grumble Kankuro picked Neji up and got him away from the waves. Then Kankuro looked around. It was defiantly a beach. He could see a thick forest of palm trees and vines. He knew the first thing they would need would be shelter.

Kankuro summoned his puppets. They were going to need some sort of shelter. He began to use the Cockroach to chop palm trees.

It was going to take a long time.


	41. Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One

Why You Shouldn't Irritate Tsunade

Maro could not figure out what was supposed to be so special about this Hinata girl. Sure she seemed nice enough for a Hyuga, he had to give her that, but why he could still could not see why Zeera would pick this girl of all the human beings out there. Iifernati horses were said to have excellent taste, and that only very special non-Iifernati could own one. The horses would always choose special people as their partners, but Maro could not see how this girl was special, unless you counted the fact that she was the only nice person in what Maro saw as a family of dictators. That was the main reason Maro was following her. He hoped that by watching her he could figure out why one on his mother's mares was apparently obsessed with her. He did not want a good horse to fall into the hands of someone how might mistreat her. That would be unacceptable.

Of course it could be that the problem was not Hinata. Maybe something was off with the horse.

"Guy-sensei is going into a building just behind this one." Hinata stopped at a rather ramshackle house. Or at least Maro thought it was a house. "Let's get on the roof and see what happens." Hinata leaped straight up to the roof.

Maro grumbled to himself. He had no chakra, he was a warrior! But that did not mean he could not follow. With another small grumble he scrambled up the building the old fashioned way.

Hinata gave him a sheepish look. "Sorry, I should have thought about that. I forget you're not a ninja."

"The day I can't climb a city squatter building is the day I become an invalid." Maro muttered crossly. He looked down at the building the strange green man was going into. "Is that a bar?" he asked.

Hinata activated the Byakugan. "Yes…" her eyes were wide and staring.

"What is going on?" Maro asked. He could not see through walls.

"He's…drunk." She said in absolute shock.

Maro wished he could see through walls.

* * *

Guy had not been here in years. He remembered being taken her time to time by Ogre, who had not actually allowed him to have a drink until he became a genin, but had felt that the needed to spend as much time bonding with his son as he could. That resulted in Guy being somewhat familiar with Ogre's team before they had reached jonin level and before he had been assigned to Hizashi and then to Hiashi. He could still vaguely remember the growing tension in the team, and that had always made him a little sad.

Guy knew this was not going to be easy. The last few times he had spoken to Hiashi had been…unpleasant. He had felt that it was his duty to warn Hiashi about what he was doing to Neji, back before the chunin exams. Guy suspected that Neji would take any opportunity to go after his cousin. Neji did not know it, but Guy had seen how he would go for his cousin, acting more like a bully then a proper ninja and man. Hiashi had taken it more like a series of personal insults rather than advice from a concerned teacher (which was what it was meant to be). Hiashi had been even more infuriated when Guy told him about Hinata's match with Neji. One again the Hyuga lord had taken Guy's concerns as not only insults, but as an attempt at an I-told-you-so. That had been the end of it, though Guy did feel that something good had come of it. While Hiashi never again spoke to Guy directly he could not help but note the fact that Hiashi was treating Neji better, and he could also see the boy become more relaxed and kinder, if still formal and straight-laced

Now, however, Guy could see a totally different side to Hiashi, one he had not seen in years. Hiashi was seated in his former team's old booth. Five empty bottles were standing in a straight line on the table, all of them. Guy remembered that game. Hiashi would line up the bottles and Hizashi and Tsume would try to knock them off kilter. It was hilarious…at least they thought it was. Guy thought it had something to do with the amount they had drunk by the time they actually reached the point when they begain to play.

Guy walked over to the booth. Hiashi did not appear to notice him. He was too busy with bottle number six.

"What do you want?" Hiashi muttered as Guy finally reached the booth.

"Hiashi, what are you doing?" Guy said quietly. Normally he would not use such a familiar tone with a clan lord, but Guy had a feeling that Hiashi was to inebriated to care at this point.

"Oh what does it look like I am doing, Shrimp." Hiashi said, focusing all of his attention on the mouth of the bottle. Guy winched a bit. He had not been referred to as "shrimp" in a long time.

Guy slid into the booth opposite Hiashi and stared at him. The stiffness and formality that had become Hiashi's norm had vanished. For the first time in a long time Hiashi was not sitting straight, instead he was slumping in the booth. It was an odd thing to see. His eyes were bleary and red, and though his voice was not as formal as it usually was there was an odd quality about it. Not quite slurring, but very close to it.

"Your daughter is looking for you." Guy said.

Hiashi groaned and his head fell on the table.

Guy reached over and lifted the head up. "You are drunk."

Hiashi tried to slap Guy's hand away, but only succeeded in flapping his hand in front of Guy's nose. "No shit." He said.

Guy frowned, wondering how to proceed. He could remind Hiashi of his duty, but…that was probably the worst thing he could do. Guy had a feeling that duty was half of the problem here. It was just a feeling that he got.

"What is wrong?" He said instead.

Hiashi blinked rapidly. It looked almost like he was having a seizure, but Guy had a feeling it had more to do with the fact that for some reason Hiashi's Byakugan kept activating and deactivating seemingly on its own.

Hiashi's head tried to drop again, but Guy kept holding it up.

"Me." Hiashi said, apparently studying a knothole in the wood of the table.

"What do you mean? Other then intoxication there is nothing the matter with you!" Guy said.

"My daughter hates me." Hiashi said, still staring at the knothole.

"What! What makes you think a silly thing like that?" Guy said, shocked by this statement.

"Stupid horse says so." Hiashi said.

"…you are drunker then I thought." Guy said.

"No no no." Hiashi waved his hand in the air again, this time not aiming for Guy's nose "Horse is like a nin dog. Remember how Tsume gets about that mutt of hers? The Iifernati say so. Horse hates me, and the horse knows what Hinata is thinking. Ergo Hinata hates me."

Guy tried to follow the train of logic. "Just because a horse hates you that does not mean that your daughter does. You are an excellent father-"

"No." Hiashi poked at Guy. "Ogre was a good father. Hizashi was a good father. You are a good father. I am a terrible father."

"I am not a father."

"You are a better father to Rock Lee, who is not your son, and then I ever was to my own flesh and blood." Hiashi said as he took another drink. Guy did not try to stop him. Hiashi leaned back in the booth with a groan. "All I wanted to do was to try to make her strong and I ended up terrorizing her. I tried to watch over Neji and he ended up hating our entire family. Now there is a pack of Wind tribesman camping on my front lawn and they spend the entire time talking about how horrible the Hyuga are. And you want to know what? They are right. Totally and completely right."

"Hiashi, you are not Ogre nor should you ever try to be like him. He would not have wanted that and you know it. And whatever Hizashi meant to you I know he was as much responsible for Neji's attitude as you were, perhaps much more. You parent differently than they do, and that does not make it wrong. And if you really think there is something wrong then sitting here getting drunk is not going to help matters. You see a problem then you should go out and fix it. Spend some time with Hinata. You don't even train her anymore! It is the perfect opportunity with Kurenai out of action!"

"Kurenai…" At those words Hiashi's eyes lit up. "Yes!" he said as if he had just discovered the secret to nirvana. Then, without warning, he stood up, downed the last of his drink, set the bottle down next to its fellows and stumbled towards the door.

"Hiashi, wait! Hiashi!" but Hiashi, who moved fairly quickly for a man who had just drank six bottles of…something all at once, was surprisingly fast.

For a second Hiashi stood there in the street, looking utterly confused. Then he shook his head and started to stumble towards the Hokage's office. Guy followed, more concerned the ever.

A few seconds later so did Hinata and Maro.

* * *

Tsunade was not a happy Hokage.

This whole war thing was getting on her nerves already. It was bad enough trying to get the majority of the council on board (one third coming on with the "our ally is in danger argument" and the other third going along because it would get the Sand refugees out faster). The council was the worst part about being Hokage. That and the paperwork. The paperwork that was taking all damn night! Honestly, why in the world did she have to declare her intentions formally to the Land of Smoke while they were attacking people! How did that make any sense?

Shizune came bursting in, looking flustered.

"What now?" Tsunade bellowed.

"I tried to stop him, but-"before Shizune could finish the sentence what looked like a human tornado came stumbling in the door. Literally a tornado of blue chakra. The tornado stopped at a file cabinet and raised a finger to it.

"Don't ever stop a Hyuga from getting where he needs to go…hey, where are you? Oh, there you are." Hiashi turned again until he found Shizune, who was glaring at him.

Tsunade took in Hiashi's rumpled appearance, the reddish eyes and the rather rank smell. What was that? It smelled pretty strong. "You are drunk." Tsunade said.

"No shit. Why does everyone keep saying that?" Hiashi said as he swayed over to Tsunade. Tsunade wondered if she looked that dumb when she drank. Surly not. She sighed. What had she done to deserve this? What would cause all this bad karma?

"I have something to say to you." Hiashi said as he leaned on the desk for a little support. A vein appeared on Tsunade's forehead, a warning sign that Hiashi did not heed.

"What." The Hokage growled.

"I want to take over my daughter's team."

Hokage waited for someone to yell surprise. No one did.

"Have you lost your mind?" she growled.

"No."

"I'm not going to do it." Tsunade snarled. "You retired from being a ninja. You are a clan leader. Why the hell would you want to take over a team?"

"Because of the stupid horse." Hiashi explained, explaining nothing.

"You do realize that team is going to be part of the war effort?" Tsunade said. "You do realize you are going to have to at the very least name someone else in your family to stand in your place as the Hyuga lord. _You do realize how much paperwork this is going to cost me?"_ Tsunade hissed this last part at the Hiashi as if he was solely responsible for every single piece of paper on her desk.

"I have to show the horse." Hiashi said calmly, as if he was discussing weather.

"The horse." Tsunade wondered what in the world was in that drink.

"Yes, the horse."

"No." Tsunade said.

And that was when Hiashi broke her desk.

* * *

Guy got there just in time to see Hiashi fly out of the window of the Hokage's office. He could only wonder if she meant to throw him in the fountain or if that had been an accident.

Guy went to fish Hiashi out of the fountain, who by now was unconscious. Guy wondered if that was due to the impact or if he had simply passed out. With a heavy sigh Guy pulled Hiashi the rest of the way out of the fountain.

"He alive?" Kotetsu Hagane poked his head out the door with a slightly concerned look. When Guy nodded Kotetsu grinned. "Izumo owes me money now! He thought that Naruto would be the first person to end up thrown out of the Hokage's window! Usually it is the furniture!"

Guy shrugged. He had always thought that Naruto would end up flying through the window as well, if not straight through the wall.

Guy decided the best thing he could do right now was to get Hiashi to his home.

He sincerely hoped that Hinata never learned of this.

Meanwhile, Hinata and Maro, who had seen everything, were heading back to the compound as well. Hinata had no idea what had gone on in there. Only that Guy had talked to her father, her father had gone to see the Hokage and had been tossed out the window. She could only wonder at what had happened.

She would not have to wait very long.

* * *

The next morning Hiashi woke up to a nice cheery ray of sunlight blasting into his room to the accompaniment of pretty little birdsong. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was the bar. And Guy…and water.

He wished the birds would shut up. They were hurting his head. If they did not stop he was going to have himself bird pie for lunch.

Lunch…he should not have thought of that.

After a brief commune with the toilet, Hiashi emerged to find a servant nervously standing in his room with a package clutched in his hand.

"What?" he growled. He was not in the mood. Why in the world did birds have to cheep so loudly?

"This came from the Hokage, my Lord." The servant said, eyeing the door.

"Just give it here." Hiashi said, resisting the urge to fall down on his bed and bury his head in the pillow. Damn those birds.

The servant left the package and fled.

Hiashi, despite the fact that all he wanted to do was to go back to sleep, opened up the package. A Leaf headband fell out.

Feeling a sense of impending doom, Hiashi picked up the headband. There was a note attached.

_Dear Lord Hyuga,_

_As per you request, you have been reinstated to full ninja status and assigned as the new leader of Team Kurenai. Report to the training fields at nine and get acquainted._

_Have fun,_

_Lady Tsunade, Fifth Hokage._

Hiashi blinked at the paper. Then he remembered his conversation with Guy, and the confrontation with Tsunade…he then noted the sun and discovered that it was probably about noon right now.

"I am going to kill that horse." He grumbled.


	42. Chapter 42

Chapter Forty-Two

Messanger

That morning, at precisely nine, the teams that were to be sent to Suna to fight had been assembled at the training grounds, both Sand and Leaf. It was the only place big enough for what Tsunade and Gaara had planned. Just as Tsunade had rearranged the teams of the Konoha 11, Gaara had rearranged the remaining Suna ninja into teams, and had even given himself one. The point of this was to see how the new teams would work together, and the get the Sand and Leaf ninja to become more familiar with each other. Most of the ninja were reluctant to work together, but Gaara knew that when people who were not at least familiar with the basics of the jutsu's of those around them then trouble would follow. It would not do if the Sand and Leaf nins got in each other's way. Natually the ninja were not going to reveal every trick and secret, but Gaara and Tsunade felt that even a basic idea of what the other could do would help.

So the training grounds were being used to showcase the talents of the ninja. They were rotating ninja around while the others watched, so each person would get a turn to see how the other ninja worked in the field. Even the puppeteers had shown up to perform, sending their three best, who happened to be Sticks, a rather calm woman named Riko and the ever prickly Gin. Right at the moment Gin was showing off her beloved Dragon by swooping around the field, fire balls occasionally spewing to strike several training dummies.

"I didn't know that Suna ninja flew." Sakura commented.

"Technically it is not flying. It's more like a glide." Kakashi said, as he observed Gin up in the air. "If you look closely you can see her hand signs. She is disguising it by sticking her hand up the puppet's head. She is switching between a wind jutsu to keep it aloft and a fire jutsu to launch the fireballs."

"Heeeey! Gaara!" Naruto, who did not really care how Gin was making her dragon fly and breathe fire, practically bounced over to his friend. Sakura, Kakashi, and Sai followed at a more sedate pace. "Are these guys your new team?"

Gaara's lips twitched up a bit "Not exactly new. I have worked with both of them before. "Gaara nodded at the two ninja with him. "That is Zirru." The bat handler waved a hand as one of his bats poked out of his sleeve and sniffed. "And he is called Apototius." The other Sand ninja, Apototius, was a short guy, about Gaara's size, but twice as wide. He also looked a bit grouchy, as if he wished he was anywhere but here.

"You have strange names." Sai pointed out mildly.

Apototius glared at him. "You have a weird face." He said. His voice was strangely high, almost like a pre-teen's.

Sai blinked. "I do? What is weird about it?"

"He's just being a jerk, ignore him." Zirru said.

By now Apototius had switched the glare to Kakashi. "You the one that summoned those dogs during the invasion a few years ago at the chunin exams, right?" He snarled.

Kakashi blinked. "Hmmm, I was?" He could not help but notice that the bat handler had a panicky look on his face and was now mouthing "say no" in increasingly panicky gestures.

"Apototius, we discussed this. Twice. I do not wish to discuss it a third time." Gaara said.

But Apototius was not listening to Gaara, instead the look he was shooting Kakashi was growing even more and more evil "You hurt Maira. You should not have done that." His eyes were practically bugging out now. "She's mine-"

"Oh stop that, Potty. I didn't come all this way just to hear you start your nonsense." The subject of Apototius' rant, Maira, was limping their direction with an amused look.

Almost immediately Apototius' manner changed. He gave the injured woman a huge grin and rushed over to her, clearly thrilled.

Kakashi's team heard Zirru let out the breath of air he had been holding. "Well, another disaster is averted." He turned to Kakashi "Sorry about that. Apototius can be possessive. It runs in his family."

"Who is she? She's a wreak!" Naruto said with his usual tact.

Zirru stiffened. "She was our third teammate before the chunin exams, but one of yours did that to her during the battle." His eyes landed on Kakashi, who shrugged "A summoned pack of dogs." Zirru said quietly.

"Are you sure it was not a nin dog?" Sai said, still nonplussed.

"I can tell the difference between a summon and a nin dog." Zirru said.

At that point Tsunade came over. "Are you ready, Gaara?" She asked.

Gaara nodded.

"Hey, Grandma, what are we doing?" Naruto asked.

"Just wait until it is your turn, Naruto." Tsunade said with a snarl. "Then you can show off all you want."

"We will be going as soon as they are done." Gaara said mildly as he pointed to a group of Sand ninja pulling off some pretty impressive wind and sand techniques. Naruto noticed with some excitement that one of them was making multiple sand clones and using them much like he used his shadow clones. Another was shooting off bullets of air, smaller more concentrated forms of Shukaku's Air Bullets attack. Still another was leaping around the targets, apparently sliding in and out of some sort of invisibility jutsu. Soon enough the small group was done and was leaving the field, and a pair of bored looking chunin came in with more targets for Gaara's group.

Zirru suddenly looked nervous, but said nothing.

Tsunade nodded and went to check on a few other things. She noticed that Hiashi had apparently not gotten her little present yet, and wondered how long it would take a hung over Hyuga to recover. Poor Hinata's team was looking a little nervous, except for Shino. She had not told them who their new leader would be; she wanted to see what would happen when they found out. She hoped that they would hold back until Hiashi got here.

Meanwhile, Gaara and Zirru had dragged Apototius away from Maira, who happily wished her former team luck before finding a nice seat to watch the show. Several other people were scattered around the training area, most of them other ninja and curious onlookers.

Once Gaara and his friends were out of earshot Sakura practically pounced on Kakashi.

"YOU did that to that her! How could you, Sensei?" She snarled.

Kakashi sighed. "I summoned my nin dogs after you left with Pakkun. I didn't exactly monitor what they did. It was kind of chaotic. I don't remember her at all, it is entirely possible that they did it all on their own."

"That's just an excuse." Sakura growled.

"True. That's the worst thing about war. In the end you always have to look the other person in the eye." Kakashi sighed. He did not want to talk about this. Perhaps Sakura was getting to know him better, but she could tell that he did not like the situation at all. Sakura already was uncomfortable with the fact that one of her friends had caused a person so much pain, but to know it had been her own sensei...it was a horrible thought.

Meanwhile, Apototius was being disagreeable.

"Aww, come on." Apototius was practically pouting. "Can't I chop off a little piece? I'll make sure he won't need it later!"

"No." Gaara said, giving him a glare. Apototius was one of the few people who could possibly resist the glare on a good day, but when he faced resistance from three of "his" people: Gaara, Zirru and now Maira he would back down. Gaara knew it was calculated risk, but he was confident that he could control Apototius.

The three of them arranged themselves in front of the targets. Gaara nodded, and at that single the other two sprang forwards, Zirru's bats launching themselves into the air.

At first Zirru and Apototius just ran at the targets, but halfway there Zirru slide to a stop and threw a kunai at his friend's back. Apototius spun around, and to everyone's horror he grabbed it by the blade and flung it into the air, a long spurt of blood flew into the sky. But then the blood seemed to wave around, almost like a ribbon in the breeze. Two bats dove and grabbed the blood, actually holding it in their little claws. With a pair of high pitched squeaks the bats sped to the targets and wrapped the ribbon of blood around three of the targets in twisting, looping patterns. Then they released, and Apototius made a cutting motion with his hand. The ribbon of blood tightened and cut the targets in half.

Gaara's sand took care of the other targets.

From start to finish the attacks took about ten seconds.

"That is one of the most disgusting jutsus have seen." Sai said mildly. Coming from a member of ROOT this meant a lot.

"So, he can manipulate his own blood and use it as a weapon." Kakashi said. "Interesting."

"More like incredibly creepy." Naruto muttered. "Hey, Gaara! Where did you find these guys anyway?" He bellowed.

Gaara walked over to them, a small smirk on his face "Kankuro introduced us. They are friends of his."

"And what can you do?" Apototius said with a sneer. "Talk to your foes till they die of sheer boredom?"

"Ha! I'll show you! Let's go guys!" Naruto scrambled over to the nearest group of available targets, the rest of his team trailing behind him with various levels of exasperation.

And so the day worn on…

* * *

Hiashi did not rush to the training grounds.

He was not going to rush, even though he was late. In fact, so late that he would bet money that even Kakashi had already arrived before him. Still he was not going to rush. It was not dignified.

Not that going to lead a team of that consisted of his daughter, his old teammate's son and a bug ninja was very dignified. This was going to be awkward.

He finally reached the training grounds, and what he saw impressed him. Some of these Sand ninja were pretty good. He winched a bit as one of their puppeteer's made kindling out of a group of targets with what looked like a huge…flower? Yes it was a puppet designed to look like a rather pretty delicate flower. It was spinning, and as it spun its razor sharp petals sliced into the targets and chopped them to pieces.

What kind of sick mind came up with that?

Hiashi looked around for his new team. There they were, standing around waiting for a turn at the targets.

Hiashi sincerely hoped that he could do this. He was badly hung over. His head pounded and the lights were hurting his eyes. He felt like he was going to throw up. He was not going to pay any attention to that, however. He was not going to show weakness.

They did not notice him until he was almost to them, and the white dog (what was its name again?) turned and barked at him.

Hinata, alerted by the dog's bark, turned as well. When she saw her father there she gasped. Her teammates turned as well. Kiba openly gaped and Shino's head cocked slightly to the left. His bugs buzzed in confusion.

Trying to forget the fact that she had recently seen her father get drunk and then get flung out of the Hokage's window, Hinata bowed to her father "H-h-h-hello, f-father. I-i-is something w-w-w-w-wrong?"

It took all of Hiashi's self control not to winch. What kind of tyrant did she think he was? She could not even talk properly in front of him! And all of that bowing! It never bothered him before, but now the formality of it hurt. Guy had never done that with Ogre! Hiashi was a horrible father! The evidence was right here! Now he did not care what anyone thought! If this worked then it would be worth all the humiliation of being hurled through windows!

"I have been assigned as your new leader in Kurenai's absence." Hiashi said, trying to look at Hinata. He was afraid of what he might see there.

Kiba laughed so hard he nearly fell down "You got to joking! You!" To Hiashi's irritation the boy sounded just like his mother. Too much, in fact so much it was almost painful. It seemed like Hinata would not be the only source of pain here. He surged forwards.

"And why would I be joking?" He stared bluntly at Kiba. He knew the Inuzuka Clan. In many ways they were like the dogs they loved. You had to show strength to them from day one, or they would challenge you at every turn. He remembered that.

"Come on! Look at you! You're so…old!" Kiba shouted. Hiashi stiffened. He was forty two! That was not old!

By now the rest of the training shinobi noticed what was going on, and whispers were starting to run through the crowd. A few giggles also erupted. Tsunade grinned to herself as she watched the show. All she needed now was some popcorn.

"Old am I?" Hiashi ignored the giggling. He tried not the even think of the giggling. He stepped closer to Kiba, staring at him straight in the eyes. Kiba snarled at Hiashi. "Do that again, pup, and I will show you what old people can do."

Kiba had always hated Hiashi deep in his heart. he thought of Hinata as a little sister, and had grown immensely protective of her. Kiba knew that Hinata's shy nature and her tendency to doubt herself can directly from this man. Kiba knew that Hinata could be strong, but she had never been given a chance. So he hated Hiashi. A lot. Kiba growled and flashed his sharp fangs at the Hyuga leader.

Hiashi did not even flinch "Like it or not I am now leading this team. You have no say in the matter."

"Wanna bet!" Kiba snarled and lunged at Hiashi. Both of them ignored Hinata's scream of protest. She did not want to see either her father or her teammate hurt, but it was too late. Kiba had already attacked.

Even hung over, out of shape and feeling terrible, Hiashi still could fight. He grabbed his attacker by the arm and flung Kiba over his shoulder and to the ground. Akamaru snarled and lunged for Hiashi's back, but the Hyuga quickly expelled some chakra and deflected the dog away.

Kiba found himself on the ground, Hiashi's hand on his throat, and his dog flying away at top speed.

Shino's bugs were massing for an attack, but at that moment a small whirlwind kicked up right beside them and started to dart around. It spun around and finally stopped at Gaara's feet. It stopped to reveal a white weasel.

"Kamatari?" Gaara said with some surprise.

"Gaara!" The weasel's voice, though small, still managed to carry "I have a message from your sister!"

There was no more whispering or giggling. Even Kiba and Hiashi had looked to the weasel.

The training area was completely silent.


	43. Chapter 43

Chapter Forty-Three

Off To War

Gaara blinked, and then allowed Kamatari to climb on his shoulder. Gaara nodded at Baki, who came over to him. From just looking at the man's face you could not tell how he felt about word from his former student. For all the audience knew Baki did not seem to care about it. Gaara, however, could read the slight tension on Baki's face. Gaara knew that his old teacher was anxious, but that was not the reason he wanted to see Baki right now. With his siblings gone Baki was the person Gaara trusted the most.

Before anyone could do anything the sand swirled around Gaara and Baki, and they were gone.

Tsunade could not help but be irritated. What was that little punk keeping from her? She knew that secretes were a part of shinobi life, but they were supposed to be allies here! She caught the eye of a seemingly random ANBU member who had been lurking unseen in a doorway and nodded slightly at him. He nodded back and vanished.

Hopefully he would find them in time.

* * *

Meanwhile Gaara had transported himself, Baki and the weasel a little ways out of the village. He and Baki were on the alert. Gaara knew that Tsunade would probably not be happy with this, but he did not care. He wanted to be the first to hear this new, him and Baki. Besides, who knew what they would be hearing from Kamatari? It was not likely that there would be anything that the Leaf did not need to know, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"Speak." Gaara commanded Kamatari.

"Temari is with the Leaf ninja Shikamaru. They are both being held at a Smoke mansion in the northeastern part of the country. They have told me that the Leaf ninja known as Rock Lee was with them when they were first captured, but they do not know where he is now. So far they are safe. Temari thinks that she can spy on the Smoke."

"What makes her think that?" Baki asked.

"She has managed to gather some important information. The current feudal lord is in league with the Smoke. According to Temari he made a deal with the Smoke leaders. He is letting them take all the ninja they want as slaves. However, the Smoke is deceiving him. They are going to march on the capital next. They will be there in a week's time."

Gaara tensed "The Daimyo, so he is finally making a move against us?" Gaara knew that the situation with their feudal lord had been tense. His father and the Daimyo had never gotten along. The Daimyo was a man dedicated to peace. Peace at any cost. To that end he had done his level best to cripple the ninja of his own land and cultivate friendships with the Leaf, even if that meant stealing missions the Sand should have gotten and giving them to Leaf ninja for half the cost. The fault was not all the Daimyo's. Gaara knew that from going over the Fourth's papers when he took over his father's office. Just as the Daimyo had taken every excuse to make nice to the Leaf, the Fourth had taken every opportunity to hurt the Leaf. He had encouraged the banditry of the Grinning Jackals, attacked any Leaf ninja he could find on his land and covered up the deaths, and in the end had made a pact with the Sound to destroy the Leaf. Gaara had been under the impression that the Fourth had been increasingly paranoid about the Leaf, and a few of the papers had just been near insane ramblings about spies and assassins from the Leaf. Gaara had always dismissed this as the ramblings of a lunatic, but it could not be denied that the Daimyo was just as destructive as the Fourth. Gaara could admire the man's dedication to peace, but the man was also a danger. His actions had nearly bankrupted the Sand Village, and it was common in those days for a parent to go without food in order to feed a child. Gaara's efforts had put a stop to that, but the Daimyo was still a firm political opponent, opposed not to the actions of the ninja, but the very existence of the ninja.

Baki felt like killing something. He had not always agreed with the Fourth when it came to his children. The Fourth had been so paranoid he believed that any show of affection between him and his children would turn them soft, and that if that happened then they would be targeted and killed. Baki had felt that this had caused far more damage to them to than any blade. However, on many other subjects he and the Fourth and been in complete agreement. Baki did, and still did in many ways, see the Leaf as a rival village and not as a friend. He would work with them, but only because it benefited the Sand to do so. Baki did a good job of acting like he liked the Leaf and going along with Gaara's friendly overtures, but that was only because Gaara was not a fool. Gaara's main goal was the safety of the Sand, and Baki knew this. If Gaara felt that being friendlier with the Leaf would be good for them then it was alright. Gaara was a more peaceful man then the Fourth, but he was not as soft minded as the Daimyo. Gaara was willing to fight for his people when it came down to it.

In fact, Baki was impressed at well the siblings had turned out. Though Gaara might appear cold and distant he truly cared about his people and their safety, and Baki knew that Gaara would do anything to protect his people. Temari was the most peace minded of the three, and was well on her way to becoming a great politician. However, she was still willing to do what was necessary to protect her home. While there was still a desire in her to make friends with the other nations, Baki could remember the times when she had fought just as hard as anyone else for the Sand. As for Kankuro, despite the lack of encouragement from his father and the sheer and utter difficulty involved in becoming a puppeteer, Kankuro was still very skilled in his field. More than that, Kankuro was willing to do just about anything for his people. Baki knew that Gaara hated the fact that Kankuro had left, and though personally Baki missed his student he could not help but approve of his behavior.

"Kamatari," Gaara said. "Go back to Temari and tell her that we have gotten her message."

The wind weasel nodded, and then disappeared in a breeze of wind.

Baki looked at Gaara "What are we going to tell them?" He nodded in the general direction of Konoha.

"Tell Shikamaru and Rock Lee's team that they seem to be safe, for now. And we will tell them that have to go to the capital now, and about the Daimyo's treachery." Gaara said.

Baki nodded. He knew what that meant. Tell them what was happening, but not go into the details about the Daimyo.

That was a weakness that the Leaf did not have to know.

Baki could sense a faint chakra signature coming towards them, and he knew that the Leafs were probably looking for them.

Gaara seemed to sense it as well. He nodded at Baki and teleported them back to the training fields. He could not help but notice that the little incident that had been happening between Kiba and Hiashi had broken up with the arrival of Kamatari, and the two of them were now staring at Gaara and Baki.

Tsunade, thoroughly irritated, walked over to them. "Well? What did it say?"

Gaara turned to her with a bland expression on his face "He said that Temari, Rock Lee and Shikamaru are fine and they are currently trying to sabotage the Smoke from within. Temari has already discovered the Smoke's next move. They are heading for the capital of Wind soon." Gaara was not going to tell them the entire story of his father and the problems with the Wind Daimyo. It was not something they needed to know, and the facts would just breed tension. He did not want them to know that the invasion of Konoha had been a result of both the Fourth's aggression and the Daimyo's meddling.

Tsunade had a feeling that she was not being told the entire story, but let it pass for now. She knew the ANBU would figure out what they were concealing. Tsunade did not know why the Sand was keeping secrets, but she was not going to make a fuss here in public. Come to think of it that was probably the reason that Gaara was just announcing this in a public setting. Tsunade could not really call him out on concealing thing from her in public and expect her ninja to trust the Sand when it came time to go to war.

Damn little brat.

"We will have to go today." Gaara said. He had a few ideas for ambushes, and he had no intention of letting the Smoke get to the capital of his homeland.

Tsunade nodded "Teams! Get your gear and be ready to leave at nightfall!" She bellowed. At once the Leaf's scrambled to get ready in a frantic but organized crowd. They had experience with getting ready to leave at a moment's notice. The really great thing about a ninja army was its ability to move fast.

While the Leaf was getting ready the Sand merely gathered around their Kazekage, ready for orders from him. Tsunade felt a bit irritated by this, but did not say anything. She knew what the Sand could be like. She had made sure that the team leaders knew that they were supposed to follow the Kazekage's orders on this mission.

She could do nothing else here. She turned to and headed for her office, feeling strangely hollow inside.

Meanwhile, Gaara had turned to Baki and said "We should inform the Iifernati, I doubt they will have much time to get ready."

Baki smiled slightly "They might surprise you."

Gaara and Baki started to head for the Hyuga compound. As they left Guy's new group was staring at them.

"Shikamaru is with Temari." Ino growled. She felt a sudden urge to hit a certain sand sibling. It was very similar to the feeling that she used to get whenever she had a fight with Sakura over Sasuke. She did not know why she was feeling this over Shikamaru. Surly this should not make her so upset!

So why did it?

Ignoring Ino's fuming, Tenten was comforting Guy, who was crying again over the brief news of his student. "He's fine." Tenten said with some annoyance. "If anyone could survive there it is Lee!"

Guy simply cried harder.

Choji sighed. He could feel Ino's irritation. He was also getting a bit annoyed by the blubbering happing a few feet from him "I am going to pack." He said. There were only so many ways you could stuff snacks into a pack, after all, and he needed to get busy. He was nto worried about Shikamaru. His friend could take care of himself!

And Shikamaru being with Temari was even better, in Choji's eyes.

* * *

Jhimey watched as Nori squinted through the pair of eyeglasses that he had obtained from a trading caravan a few years earlier. He did not use them often, for fear of breaking them, but he did need them for his work as the Arrl. It would not due for the Arrl to misinterpret a sign from the gods because of bad eyes. It would be even worse if he gave someone the wrong herb by accident. The Arrl of the Swooping Eagles was throwing handfuls of sand into the air and studying the pattern in which they floated in the air.

"Well?" Jhimey asked with some irritation.

"Don't be snippety just because Katsu made you sleep under a bush last night." Nori said "You should know better than to act like that around her."

Jhimey grumbled under his breath. Something about leaves and sticks and pine cones.

"Oh stop it, you are breaking my concentration." Nori said with one last thrown. He removed the glasses and closed his eyes, thinking.

Jhimey shifted around.

"Tonight maybe. Or perhaps tomorrow. Very soon though, I think." Nori opened his eyes and looked at Jhimey "You know omens are not an exact science. But the wind is blowing very strongly towards home. It can mean nothing else. We will be leaving very soon now."

Jhimey nodded "Good, maybe then I can relax."

Nori gave his leader a sympathetic look "I know this must be hard for you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Jhimey shook his head "No. No. I am fine." He got up from the log he had been sitting on. Normally the Arrl would have his own private tent, but Jhimey had been reluctant to let the tribe set up their individual tents. Most of the things they had were already packed and ready to move. Jhimey had hoped they would be back in Suna soon, and the omens that Nori had read seemed to support this belief.

At that moment Cor came up, followed by a woman. "Arrl Nori! Arrl Tsubasa is here!"

Nori smiled at his Bloodied Dragon counterpart. She was a young woman, not even twenty yet. She kept gazing around the area with some fright on her expression, though she struggled not to show it. "Shoo Jhimey, go try and get back into your wife's good graces." Nori said.

Jhimey snorted and got up. He and Cor left back in the general direction of the Swooping Eagle tent.

Tsubasa nodded at Nori and sat on the log that had once supported Jhimey. Nori frowned at her "And you child, are you alright?"

Tsubasa started "Why wouldn't I be?"

"This place holds horrors for me and mine, but is must also hold some for you. Jhimey hides it, but you do not as well." Nori said.

Tsubasa fidgeted "I have never been here."

"Neither have I or my son, but we still feel the pain. You have just as much cause to hate this place. So I ask again, are you alright?"

Tsubasa glared at Nori "It does not matter. I am a Bloodied Dragon now. Yes I am uncomfortable here, but I can still follow the laws of my tribe. I may be grateful for the help you have given me since Xanlus' death, but I do remember the basics."

Nori sighed "That is not what I meant, settle down. I am only worried about you."

"I know. But from what I have seen of the signs I doubt we will be here much longer. Now are we going to do this or not?"

Nori nodded. He reached into the pack he had by his feet and pulled out square block caved from stone. On each side was an image etched in the stone. On one side was an eagle spreading its wings wide in front of the image of a bright sun, another had the image of a man with an eagle head carved on the surface. The third had a large hammer backed by the sun and a last was a single eagle foot pointed downward at an angle, the talons clenched together like a fist. This was the symbol of the Swooping Eagles.

Tsubasa had brought out a similar block. On its surface was carved a winged and roaring dragon in full flight. On another surface was of a bright flame. The third had a balancing scale and the last was of a bloody claw upraised to the sky.

"Hertok-rah. Eagle of the Sun. Eldest of the Wind. Lord of the sky and the earth below." Nori intoned "We of your tribe ask for wrath. We ask for the raging blood of the Eagle to rain down upon the Smoke. We ask for your strength. Lend us the power and might of the Eagle."

"Nortinum." Tsubasa said "The Dragon. Wise councilor. He who lights the path. Give us the light of your flame. Show us our true enemies. Give light to the Sun so that he can strike true and strong. Lend us the wisdom and foresight of the Dragon."

Underneath their hands the blocks began to glow.

* * *

To Gaara's immense surprise the Swooping Eagles were not shocked at all when he told them that they had to leave by that night. In fact, the moment Jhimey heard that he had his entire tribe taking down the tent. It took about five minutes, and only another five for them to round up the horses and saddle them.

About the same time Hiashi came in with Hinata, who could not look at her father. She was too busy being mortified.

"Go pack." Hiashi said to her, unable to meet her eyes. How could he when she kept turning her head in desperate effort not to meet his gaze?

Hiashi was infinitely glad he had already chosen someone to take over the clan's business while he was away with Hinata. Sure his mother was old, but not infirm or feeble minded. In fact…

"Hiashi." The voice, stern and cold, far more so then even his own, still had the power of personality to make Hiashi feel like he was ten years old and slipping out a cookie from the jar at midnight. Hiashi turned and faced his mother, Hikaru Hyuga, aka the Dragon of the Hyuga. "What have you done?"

Hiashi tried not to gulp "I have decided that I need to spend more time with my daughter. I am taking over her training, and the training of her team, in Kurenai's absence."

Hikaru glared at her son "Nonsense. You have done more than enough for this village." She said village like a normal person would say roach colony. "You will stay."

"I am sorry, but it has already been done." Hiashi said. He was glad that this was happening in public. Hikaru could not really browbeat him in front of an entire tribe. Already her eyes were cutting over to the tribe in anger. "You have already the led the clan with great wisdom," wisdom that had led to his brother's death, his nephew's hate and his daughter's almost paralyzing shyness-Hiashi's mind shied away from these ungrateful thoughts. His mother had done so much for him, why should he suddenly feel so annoyed with her?

Hiashi's mother continued to glare at him, and was about to say something, but at that moment a familiar voice bellowed from the gates.

"Hey, Bob! Get your skinny Hyuga butt out here!"

There was only one person in the entire village with the sheer gall to call him that…

Hiashi bowed respectfully to his mother and said "I must go."

"Stay." It was not a plea. It was not a request. It was not even a question. It was an order. Pure and simple. In the past Hiashi had followed this edict whenever it was given like a dog coming to heel.

This time, however, he did not. Perhaps later he could blame the hangover. "I am sorry." He said over his shoulder.

Hikaru glared at his back. That had been _her_ voice. The little bitch. Hiashi had been showing bad signs lately. Training that little run Neji. Letting his daughter run around with the bitch's pup. And now this travesty. A tribe of filthy barbarians and their even filthier beasts camping in their compound without even a peep from Hiashi, not to mention the branch members running around un-cursed! Unacceptable. This was the last straw, as far as Hikaru was concerned.

"You _will_ be sorry." She whispered. She turned and went back inside.

She had a few letters to write.

* * *

Hiashi stared at Tsume, not knowing what to feel. Should he feel happy or sad or-

"What the hell are you thinking, Bob?"

Okay, it looked like we were going with irritation.

"Stop calling me that. Hizashi is not here to get us confused with." He glared at her "You know I hate that."

"That's why she calls you that." Kuromaru, Tsume's nin dog, snorted in amusement.

"Did you get fatter?" Hiashi asked mildly.

"It's called a winter coat, moron." The nin dog retorted.

"Oh stop it you two." Tsume grinned. She then looked at Hiashi "You spent twenty odd years being a complete and total ass. Now all of a sudden you want to act like a normal person? What the hell happened?"

"I have not acted as an ass," Hiashi said "I am the leader of a clan. Something you were never able to accept."

Tsume growled at him "Idiot, I am the leader of a clan as well!"

"The Inuzuka are not the same as the Hyuga."

"Oh so we are not good enough for you?"

"That is not what I meant. You are putting words into my mouth. Again."

"It's what your mother meant."

"Don't make this about my mother."

"Momma's boy."

"I think this is the exact same argument we had twenty years ago. Don't you have anything better to do?"

"If I did not have better things to do I would not have taken twenty years to take a break from you and your shit."

"Are you two married or something?" It was Katsu, who had come over to watch the show.

"NO!" Both ninja turned to her with almost the exact same embarrassed expressions on their faces.

"Huh, then stop acting like it. Get a room or something." Katsu grinned at them. Tsume growled at her. Katsu looked at Tsume and gave a rather horsey snort.

Hiashi decided to ignore Katsu "If this is about my taking over team eight, I am not going to give it up. Live with it."

An outsider would have mistaken Tsume's expression for a smile, but Hiashi knew that look. It was no smile. "Oh, I intend to live with it. And you are going to have to live with me."

Hiashi's eyes widened "You didn't…"

"What is the matter, don't want me along?" Tsume said with mock sweetness.

"Actually I was just envisioning the Hokage's reaction to two clan leaders doing this within one day of each other. I pity the furniture."

Tsume laughed despite herself. Katsu was also grinning.

But they were not smiling about the same things.

* * *

It was nightfall, and the ninja and the Iifernati were gathered at the gate. At Gaara's signal they were on their way. The ninja jumped from tree to tree with silent grace and speed.

The Iifernati took a different approach. Whooping and hollering and bellowing, they charged from the gates with a thunderous crash.

They were heard long after they had left.

Miles away, tanks were starting up. Green coated men were polishing rifles. Pilots were checked their planes for any and all issues.

Two armies were on the move. One powered by sheer science, the other by, for lack of a better term, magic.

Somewhere, a werewolf looked at the two groups through a mirror, gave a toothy, fang filled grin.


	44. Chapter 44

Chapter Forty-Four

Triad Park

As soon as night fell on the factory, not that Lee could really tell with the low smog cover. However, he could tell it was night, because the slaves were always herded down to the basement, where they had set up bunks for them.

Lee waited for a few hours, and then he slowly rolled out of his bunk. He had never wanted for a substitution jutsu more than right now, but he could not use ninjutsu. He had to do this on his own. He could do it! He was the only ninja with no ninjutsu, and he always found a solution!

Lee stealthy snuck through the bunks, keeping to the shadows and moving as slow as he could. He would freeze every time he heard one of his fellows shift or sigh in his sleep, but he eventually made it to the door.

Now came the hard part. The door was not locked, but the doors at the entryways of the factory were. However, after close inspections of the small windows that lined the roofs, Rock Lee determined that he could climb up there and fit through the window. Lee climbed on top of the machines, careful not to step on anything that might be a lever or a switch. He did not want any noise. Once he was high enough he found a nice window that looked like it had been opened recently, that is its layer of dust and rust was not as heavy as its fellows, and gently convinced the thing to open. It would be a tight squeeze, but Lee managed to fit through it.

Lee leaped from the window to the wall of a nearby building. Somehow his fingers found purchase that normal people would never have been ever to find, unless they had chakra. Rock Lee climbed up the wall and proceeded towards the general direction of the only patch of green in the city within sight. It had to be the aforementioned Triad Park.

Lee was a good ninja, perhaps even a better ninja then most due to the fact that he had to do everything a normal ninja could do without the benefit of chakra. However, he was not infallible. Moreel, who usually did not stay late, had that night. He was looking over several pictures of a certain woman. He was trying to decide what to do. He was almost completely convinced, in his heart, that Lee was her son. He looked so much like her that it would be impossible for him not to be. Moreel had interrogated Zanne as to why he had come back with his funds mysteriously missing. Zanne had told him about his investigation, and while Moreel had been irritated at the man's nosiness, he had not punished the slave. Moreel had been too busy thinking. What Zanne had told him had fit the events that Moreel remembered. He remembered searching for her after Jera turned her away, convinced that she was up to no good. He remembered learning that a strange foreign woman had taken the children away.

Rock Lee had mentioned to Jera that he was from the Leaf Village. The woman that had taken her…his children had been from a place called the Leaf Village. And Rock Lee himself had said that he was an orphan. Moreel had never been in a barbarian land, but surely a village could not be that large. How many orphans could have been living in this village that looked exactly like her?

Only two.

The only question was, why had Lee never mentioned an older sister to Zanne? Was she adopted without his knowledge? And, what to do if Rock Lee was his child? His son…

Moreel was not a fool. He knew that if Lee had grown up as a barbarian he would not feel particularly loyal to the Empire, as was proper. He would be uncivilized and wild, like a boy raised by wolves in a storybook. But if Lee was truly Moreel's son could he leave him as he was? Uneducated, uncivilized and a slave?

No, he could not do that.

Just as Moreel was leaving through his office entrance and turning the corner to get the man street a shadow passed over his head. He looked and managed to see a certain Leaf ninja jumping from roof to roof.

For a second Moreel felt a surge of rage. One of his slaves had just broken out of his factory! But then Moreel remembered who this was.

"Maybe the boy is more like me then I thought." He muttered with a nostalgic grin. He remembered traveling like this when he and Jera had been boys, though they had gone much slower. Whatever uncharitable things he thought about this village that the boy had grown up in, Moreel had to admit that it did a lot for his psychical health!

Moreel rushed to the stables attached to the factory. Normally it was only for a carriage, but Moreel knew how to ride a horse. Quickly he saddled the faster one and in few moments he was following the now almost indistinct speck that was Rock Lee.

That boy could move! But Moreel knew the streets, even after years of soft living there were just some things you never forgot.

* * *

Rock Lee was early. He knew it. So he took some time to scout the position out. The park was, to Rock Lee's eyes, a poor substitute for an actual forest. Yeah there were trees and bushes and grass, but there was something arranged about it. It seemed almost artificial and soulless. Rock Lee hated it. He missed the Leaf Village. Yes the place was a bit chaotic in its design and the interior had almost no trees to speak of, but right outside the gates was a wild forest. There was something more honest about a place that admitted that it was for human habitation and not for the wild, but that left said wild alone, most of the time.

After wandering the circumference of the park, Rock Lee found the biggest tree in the fake forest, which was little more than a sapling by Land of Fire standards, and climbed it. He nestled himself into the thin leaves. For some reason this made him feel a little better, though he felt badly for the poor unyouthful tree!

Closing his eyes Rock Lee attempted to think back. It had not escaped him that it was possible that he was from this land, and that it was possible that the owner of the factory assumed that he was Rock Lee's father. It added up. The fact that Lady Tsunade had brought a child from here to the Leaf village and the fact that everyone in the factory seemed to think that he was familiar. But could he be a Smoke child? To Rock Lee's horror he thought that made sense. He had known he was an orphan, but the fact that he had no chakra was odd. Even if he had come from somewhere in the Land of Fire, or even another Shinobi Nation then he would have had chakra. He would have been…normal. But he did not.

And neither did the Smoke.

But he did not feel like a Smoke. He felt like a Leaf! It was true that he had never been adopted, but he did feel like he had family. Neji and Tenten were like a brother and a sister to him. The rest of ninja of the Konoha 11 were his cousins. And Guy-sensei…there was no one else he could think of as his father. Especially not a snobbish weak little Smoke!

No, no, that was unkind. He barely knew Moreel. He should not be so judgmental or so grudging.

Rock Lee tried to think back. What was his earliest memory? He could remember himself as boy at the orphanage, playing with the various cats and dogs that lived there. The adults there had been under the impression that every child needed to grow up with pets, and there had been several cats, dogs and a few ferrets and pet rats there for the kids to play with. He could remember lying on the floor of the story room, listening to Airi, one of the women who took care of the orphans, telling them stories of great ninja and adventures and sometimes even scary ghost stories. He could remember closing his eyes and imagining himself as one of those heroes or participating in one of those adventures. He could also remember being bitten by a rather disturbed younger orphan on the shoulder. He never figured out why that boy had done that, and he could not even remember what the problem had been about. He remembered that his orphanage had been a bright, happy place, for the most part. Occasionally a very troubled young man would come in and cause chaos, but for most part the orphanage had been a good place to grow up.

Rock Lee wondered what it would have been like to grow up here. Would his father have cared for him? Raised him? What would he be, if not a ninja? The possibility occurred to him that he might have ended up joining whatever equivalent to the ninja that the Smoke had. What if, in another life, he had to fight his friends?

It was a horrible thought.

"Mory? Are you here?" Rock Lee was shaken out of his pondering by the soft calls of the young woman that he had meet earlier that day.

"I apologize, but please remember that my name is Rock Lee." Lee said as he jumped out of the tree.

The woman nearly had a heart attack "Oh! Do…do you live in trees where you come from?"

Rock Lee could not help but be frustrated that everyone here seemed to think that just because he was from the Leaf Village that meant he lived in trees.

"I have a house. It is on the ground. It is made of wood and brick." Rock Lee said.

"Oh, sorry." The woman said.

"Perhaps we should start over." Rock Lee said. He bowed and gave her his signature bright shiny grin. "I am Rock Lee, of the Leaf Village."

The woman, instead of bowing, just nodded at him. "My name is Kala. I knew you and your sister when you lived with my family, before you were taken by that Tsunade woman."

"How are you so certain that I am this child?" Lee asked. "I am sorry, but I remember nothing of this place from my childhood."

"You were raised by this Tsunade?" Kala asked. "Did she say anything about finding you here?"

"No, I am an orphan. I was raised in the village orphanage." Rock Lee said. "Lady Tsunade is our Hokage, but for a long time she traveled and was not in the Leaf Village."

"But you look just like Audalia! You must be her son! There must be some way to prove it one way or the other!"

Rock Lee blinked. "Perhaps there is." Lee bent down and reached into his left leg warmer. It was useful for more than just the weights that even now were currently inside. The Smoke, despite the fact that they had searched him, had not found out about the weights. Nor did they find the kunai, sebon and shuriken hidden along with the weights, deeper in his shoes. Rock Lee preferred his fists, but it would not do for a ninja to go unprepared!

But there was something else there. Tied to his ankle and wrapped in a single bandage deep inside where none could find it, was a small ring. He had this ring all of his life, Airi had told him that it had been with him when they got him, and it was his oldest and most treasured possession. Once, long ago, Rock Lee had worn it, but it kept slipping off and he almost lost it in a pig pen one day. Then he had worn it on a small chain around his neck, but that proved impractical as well, as one of Neji's favorite tricks in the early days of their team was to grab the chain and try to garrote Lee with it. Afterwards Rock Lee had thanked Neji for showing him the flaw. He had ignored the fact that Neji had been very dismissive and cruel about the item in general. Later, after his fight with Naruto, Neji had apologized for his behavior, this being one of the instances where he had been very nasty. In many ways Neji had been a bully, and Rock Lee knew it. But Rock Lee had taken this as an opportunity to improve, and instead of being upset with Neji he had come up with a solution. He tied the chain to his ankle and wrapped a bandage around it, to keep in place. This way he could keep his treasured item, but he was not in danger from it.

Now, Rock Lee brought out the ring and showed it to Kala. It was a small silver ring. Stamped on the top was a strange (at least to Rock Lee) symbol of a sword pointed downwards. The hilt of the small sword had an ivy leaf twisted around it. It was a very detailed, though small, symbol.

Kala gasped. "Mory, I mean Lee that is the seal of the Fantuen family! They are one of the oldest noble families in the Empire!"

Rock Lee stared at the ring "That means?"

"I-it was Audalia's ring. She was a Fantuen, but they disowned her when…when…"

"When she started to pop out the little bastard children of a factory owner." Rock Lee cursed himself when he heard the voice. He should have been paying more attention!

The group coming towards them was led by Kala's father, the man that had thrown Rock Lee out of his store with a gun. He had the gun, as well as some rather unsavory looking friends. Rock Lee had seen bandits before, and these fit the description. They were all holding weapons of some variety.

"Father! What are you doing?" Kala looked appalled.

"Taking what should have been mine seventeen years ago. Give me that ring, boy." Kala's father demanded. "Do you know what I can do with that seal? How much I can make off it?"

Rock Lee could sense that these people were not going without a fight. He also could tell from Kala's body language that she was no fighter. She was definitely not a Tenten or a Sakura. He stepped in front of Kala, determined to protect her.

The man paused, and then laughed. "You little fool! Do you really think you can keep my own daughter from me? Come here girl."

Kala was looking from Lee to her father, uncertain.

Rock Lee looked at her "You need no fear. I can protect you. If you wish to go to him I will not stop you, but think about what you do beforehand."

"You really are a fool! After what she has done!" Kala's father mocked.

"What are you talking about?" Rock Lee asked.

"So you haven't told him? Tell him, girl! Tell him where his big sister is!"

Kala had started to cry "No." She moaned. "No."

"My sister?" Lee asked.

"If you won't tell him, then I will."

"No! Don't!"

"Why, she is right there, under that tree." Kala's father laughed. "If you dig deep enough you might find her bones!"

Rock Lee stared at the man in horror. He had never met or knew of a sister before now, but now, knowing that one had lived and that she was buried right here…and most likely by this man.

It was the closest Lee had ever felt to true hate. Not just anger at injustice, but actual hate. It made him feel so cold and miserable, but angry at the same time. Was this how Neji felt all those years ago? How had he borne it?

"What did you do?" Rock Lee asked, trying to mentally throw the feeling away. He didn't like it.

"I didn't do a thing! I just buried the little brat! Kala is the one that offed her!"

"It was an accident! I didn't know it was so cold! I didn't mean to lock her out! It was a joke, I-"

"Enough." Rock Lee turned to her "I bear no grudge against you."

"What! She murdered your kin!"

"No." Rock Lee turned to man "She would have been a child! Children do not mean what they do. No, the person responsible for her death is you! If what you say is true then you are the one responsible!"

"Enough of this! Give me that ring. Or else."

"No." Rock Lee was starting to like that word. "It is mine. I will not."

"Fine then." Kala's father aimed the gun at Rock Lee. Lee prepared to spring on the man, but at once he heard something rushing towards them. It sounded almost like hoof beats, though Kala's father gave no indication that he heard until almost a full three minutes after Lee. With a rather dramatic entrance involving jumping a fence into the park, Moreel and his horse came charging in. Kala's father gave a squawked and aimed the gun at Moreel, but the shot went wild. Moreel did not even try to stop his horse, but ran it through the crowd, knocking over the gang as he went.

Kala's father snarled and shot again, and the horse fell with a scream. The gang pressed in on Moreel with a blood crazed cry.

"Leaf Hurricane!" At the last moment Rock Lee remembered to pull the blow. He did not want to kill anyone, and he thought that only a portion of his speed and strength would be enough. He had always tried to never hold a grudge, but he did admit that a small petty part of him felt immense satisfaction in kicking the man who had caused his unknown sister's death. The man, unused to the ninja way of fighting, fell to the ground with a sickening crack. Mindful of the power of the Smoke's weapons, Lee grabbed the gun and tossed it away as far as he could. With only that brief pause Lee then launched himself at the rest of the gang. The gang, used to fighting dirty, was still unprepared of Lee's speed and evasive abilities. Despite holding back greatly, and barely using ten percent of what he could do, Lee was still faster, stronger and more agile then the gang. Lee fought his way to Moreel and quickly defended the man, circling around him like a small tornado. Eventually the gang could not handle this and they fled.

Lee, barely even breathing hard, offered his hand to Moreel. "Sir, are you injured?"

"No, I am fine." Moreel said with a sad look at his horse. "Poor girl. I didn't think that would happen." He turned to Lee. "You do know that slaves are not supposed to be out at night?"

Before Lee could answer, Kala came up "But, he's a noble's son! Yes he's illegitimate, but-"

"Wait." Moreel held up his hand. "Just wait." He turned back to Lee. "He is not illegitimate, if he is who I think he is."

Lee, who did not really see how his legitimacy was an issue, opened his hand and showed Moreel his ring. Lee stared at the man, desperate to feel something. Some sort of connection to this man who might be his real father.

But he felt nothing. All he could see in his mind was Guy-sensei. Would he be happy for Lee or upset?

Moreel stared at the ring, and then looked at Lee. Lee might not feel anything special, but Moreel felt a sensation of both joy and dread. He had always wanted to see his son or his daughter, but now that one of them was in front of him he did not know what to do. Would his son hate him? For some reason this became extremely important to him.

But the ring was proof. He knew that ring, and with the fact that Lee looked so much like her…

"Yes." Moreel nodded "You are my son.


	45. Chapter 45

Chapter Forty-Five

Three Beasts

Cragga knew Orochimaru. She knew his habits, his rather odd tastes, and his annoying tendency to be vague. Not that she was any less vague at times, but that was hardly the point. She also knew his hideouts, bases and evil secret labs (unless he had made more in her absence, which was very possible). She would not have put it past him.

She had visited several of them so far. Three had been abandoned, one of which had been the site of a slaughter. She could smell the stink of Uchiha everywhere. It was an itchy feeling in her nose.

"Oh yes." She muttered as she sniffed the clear air. Even five miles away the stink still lingered in her nostrils. "You are defiantly one of them. I think I am beginning to understand why he kept you…" the wolf in her wanted to bite. It wanted to bite badly, but Cragga would not let it. She was much more talented in reining in her instincts then Kankuro.

Finally, she came to the entrance of another hidden lab. This one was planted over a natural cave system. The smell of metal and medical things wafted from a steel vent in the ground, hidden by a covering of thick plants. There was also the smell of snakes.

Cragga grinned and opened the vent and slipped in. She sniffed. Yes, there was Kabuto's scent, now mingled with the scent of snakes.

She grinned and walked forwards on her hind legs, ears and nose pricked for traps. You could never be too careful with shinobi.

Finally the tunnel opened to a large cave. The cave had been converted to a laboratory, with chemicals and things covered with medical ninjutsu seals and tubes filled with strange liquid. There were things floating in that liquid. Some of them were also filled with half living twisted malformed flesh that might have once been human parts and organs. In the middle of the room was yet another large human shaped tube filled with the liquid, and standing there, apparently sticking his hand in and doing…something…was Kabuto.

He looked different then when she had seen him last. He had not had white scales covering his arms when she had last seen him. Nor had he the beginnings of a small snake tail coming from his spine.

"One moment, Cragga, I will be with you in a moment." Kabuto said calmly. He fiddled around some more with the thing in the tube, then pulled his hand out and closed the opening in the tube. He reached for a rag that was lying at the other end of the tube and wiped the thick green slime from his scaled arm and hand. He had a pleasant smile on his face. He bowed respectfully at the huge bipedal wolf standing in his secret lab.

"Hello Cragga, it is a pleasure to see you again." Kabuto said that in almost the same way one would greet a particularly violent creditor.

"Indeed." Cragga said. "as you can see I have succeeded in my mission. No doubt you have heard that the Kazekage's brother is now a werewolf? Like me?"

"I also heard that he ran." Kabuto said wryly.

"Indeed, he ran where I wanted him to run." Cragga said.

"Really? Why is that?"

"Can't you guess?"

"I suppose I could." Kabuto smilled. "I wonder how fast the Kazekage will go after his brother. And what is he going to find when he follows?"

Cragga smiled "And shall I guess what all of this is about." She spread her furry arms out to encompass the whole room. "Body parts in jars, Orochimaru's scent all over the place and you half a snake? You are reviving him, giving him a new body. And you managed to get some upgrade of your own in the bargain."

Kabuto didn't answer, he just adjudged his glasses. "Is there something you needed, Cragga?"

"Question. When I left your master was talking about the power of the nine beasts. I come back and I find that he has died playing around with demonspawn, and not a very good one at that. He is the perfect example of his kind, this Sasuke Uchiha. A selfish, overpowered lay about with the all the personal morals of a wharf rat."

"Now now, Cragga, that is uncharitable to the rats. And since when do you care about morals?"

"I don't, but neither do they. And since he does not then that makes him the same. He is not exceptional, he is typical. Sure he has more power than a normal human, but this is to be expected given what he is. Why did you not just dissect the boy and be done with it? I am sure you could have found out something useful about them." Cragga said. "Did he want to use the boy's body as his own?"

"That is part of it. Let me tell you a little story. Once there was a boy with the spirit of the nine-tailed fox. He was the weakest little ninja in the Leaf village. But there was another boy who was his best friend and greatest rival. Can you guess?"

"Ah, I see. You hoped to spur the boy on? Hoped that by making Sasuke more powerful that it would make Naruto more powerful as well…and it worked did it not? I doubt that Naruto would have as much power as he does now, if little Uchiha was in tune with his human soul and still a friend. And we could not have demonspawn friends with a tailed beast. They would have destroyed each other sooner or later it is only natural. Better that they split now."

"Unfortunately it is not that simple. Naruto is convinced that he can save Uchiha from himself." Kabuto said.

"Well! We can't have that. I will have to do something about it, now that Orochimaru is…indisposed. I think I can use the boy myself… he seems easy enough to manipulate. And with the elder demon in hiding now that he has scented my wolves…his goal is to destroy the Leaf, yes?"

Kabuto smiled and nodded. "I will be eager to see what you do. It has been to long since I have seen your work. I am sure that you can handle Uchiha's tendency to stab his mentors in the back."

"There is one more thing. Are the four done?"

"Yes and no. There are only three."

"What happened to the other?"

"It did not work and was killed. It was defeated by Naruto no less and executed later. There was a female as well, but Lady Tsunade reversed the process before it could permanently take hold. It was the water beast. However, the fire, wind and earth are fine; we moved them after the water one failed to the thirteenth prison. I think they have waited long enough, and Uchiha never found out about the other three, so they will be unfamiliar to him. There will be no way to change the back now, and I even took the time to erase their minds. They should be willing enough to follow you. Do you want to trade?"

"Indeed." Cragga reached into the bag tied to her back and emerged with a scroll and a bag of runes. "Follow the instructions precisely. It is actually very delicate. Who knows what will happen if you do it wrong…of course you will probably mess it up just to see what happens, never mind. If you need any more of the runes then contact me."

"A pleasure doing business with you, Cragga." Kabuto bowed.

"I hope to see Orochimaru soon. Good luck." Cragga bowed and left. She could still feel Kabuto's sharp eyes on her, even when she was far away.

* * *

The thirteenth prison was high in the mountains. The entrance was hidden in a small crevasse in the rocks. Inside the crevasse was a circular steel room, almost like an arena. Cragga crawled down in the crevasse and found the entrance. She opened the steel door and climbed down the ladder to the main room. As soon as she was inside three powerful voices roared and screamed and howled. Cragga ducked as a stream of fire burst from one of the cells.

"How impolite." Cragga muttered. A green three fingered claw shot out and tried to grab her, but with a snarl Cragga dodged and bit the green arm. The creature screeched and pulled its arm back. Cragga let it go.

"One would think that you don't want out of there." Cragga said. The beasts in the cages stopped howling.

"You…will free us?" One of them said. Identical red eyes glared at her through the bars.

"Indeed, think of it my friends! Blue skies! Green grass! The feel of the wind! How long has it been since you felt it?"

"To long…" One of them muttered.

"Indeed. I can give you everything you want. The only thing you want. Freedom. There is…one thing."

"Why am I not surprised?" One of them muttered suspiciously.

"Now, now. It is simple, what I want… and I think, after some consideration, you will see the wisdom of it as well…"

Cragga talked well into the night.

* * *

The next day dawned. If anyone were to look up at the mountain side that day then they would have seen it seem to erupt. A green claw reached out and pulled its owner out of the crevasse.

The beast was a tall, long limbed thing with a dark green hide. Along its arms was a thin membrane like the wings of a bat. On its legs were long green feathers. On its back were translucent dragonfly wings. It raised its head to the sky and screamed. It had a long, reptilian snout and a pair of straight spikes on its head. It beat its dragonfly wings and lifted into he sky.

Right on the first creature's heels another beast emerged. The thing that dragged itself from the pit was bright red with a long black mane. It had twisted goat horns on a twisted humanoid face and it spewed fire from its mouth. It had horrible snaggleteeth and long sharp claws. It reared on its hind legs and shook its mane. It snorted fire from its oddly shaped nose, a nose that seemed to suggest certain goatyness.

The last beast scrambled out. It was the biggest of the beasts. it seemed to have been carved from pure rock. It had four thick legs shaped like pillars. Attached at the waist, like a centaur, was a humanoid torso and chest. Strangely enough the chest seemed to suggest a certain…femininity. The head, however, there was nothing human about that head. The head was that of a huge rock rhinoceros.

"Let's go." The rhinoceros beast said. With a roar it was off, galloping down the side of the mountain. It was down in three jumps. The red beast leaped after it, with a bit more grace. With a buzz the green beast followed.

A few moments later Cragga emerged from the hole, grinning and chuckling to herself.

"Now, all that is left is the boy." Still grinning she headed for the Land of Rain.

* * *

I know that the chapter is short, but I have talked enough of Cragga's plans. What good is evil withought a little mystery? And I wanted the chapter to be about her, to give you some answers of what she is planning, and hopefully more questions as well.

I can't belive that Orochimaru really thought that Sasuke was that great. There must have been something more...at least that is what I thought.


	46. Chapter 46

Chapter Forty Six

Demoneyes

Temari had always thought that the hardest part about teaching these brats how to ride a freaking horse would occur when she tried to convince the parents to let their spawn actually get on the horse. She wasn't sure how these weird people would react to her volunteering to teach their unruly brats how to ride. It seemed to Temari that the best way to get close to the people who apparently were involved with the war with her people was get at them through their children. She didn't want to hurt the kids, but she saw no problem with using them. However, the only person she could get in contact with was the rather stern looking housekeeper, Miss Aunna, who had brought her and Shikamaru there. Fortunately, Aunna seemed to think the idea was a great one.

"They will most certainly need to learn eventually." She said with her normal stiff tones. Temari had heard that these people rode horses purely for entertainment and social purposes. This was especially true with people with noble titles. Temari did not really see the point in using an animal for entertainment, but she was not going to argue about it.

The moment Temari walked into the stable, children in tow, she almost immediately started to sense some sort of danger. She knew someone was watching her, and she didn't like it. She guessed that it might be Urik. Shikamaru had warned her about him. She was going to keep alert, just in case.

Temari wasn't even going to look for the man. She could do this herself. First she dug up some brushes, and then she inspected the horses. None of them had that spark that resided in the gaze of the Iifernati horses. They all seemed rather dull to her. However, she picked the three smallest she could find, actually they were ponies, but Temari had never seen a pony in her life, and led them over to a handy fence outside the stables. She also got a horse for herself.

"Okay, each of you grab a brush." She said.

"Why?" Nere gazed at the horses with unfiltered disgust.

"It's called grooming." Temari replied. "You have to do it before and after you ride a horse."

"Isn't this slave work?" Serius asked.

"No." Temari said bluntly. "This is called common sense. It's also called being responsible. Like an adult."

The children, like most, decided that they liked the idea of being adults, and dove for the brushes.

"Start at the head and go down." Temari said. "Never use this one; it's called a curry, on the face or legs. It's too hard for that…" Temari smiled when she realized she was giving almost the exact same speech her aunt Katsu used to give her. Katsu's method had also included learning the basic commands to give a horse, commands that Temari bet that she could exclude. The Iifernati horses responded much more then these silly things did. The Iifernati horses had been lively and playful, but these just kind of stood there and occasionally chomped on grass.

Once they were done giving the horses a quick brush, which Katsu had always insisted was essential, because it made the horse feel good, Temari went ahead and saddled the animals herself. If she tried to teach them everything today they would be here forever. At least if they watched her they would get the basic idea. While she was doing this she noticed the other child, Celeine, walking into the barn. Temari decided to ignore her.

"Alright, put your hands here and swing up." Temari said as she almost effortlessly swung on the horse she had chosen. It had been a few years since she had done this, but she had remembered it.

Serius and Timius eagerly tried to scramble on their ponies, both of whom took this rather well. At one point Temari had to get down and help Timius, who was having some issues getting on. Now only Nere was not on her pony.

Temari sighed internally "Do you need help as well?" She asked.

Nere sniffed. "Ladies ride sidesaddle, not astride." She said primly.

Temari blinked. "The hell" she mumbled. "What-saddle?" She asked a bit louder.

"Sidesaddle. Like this." Temari turned at Celeine's voice. Apparently the girl had already been taught how to ride, but it was the oddest looking thing Temari had ever seen. As far as she had been taught there was only one way to ride a horse, and that was by swinging onto it and sitting astride the animals. Celeine, however, was sitting with both of her legs on one side of the horse.

"A lady does not sit like a man. It is uncouth." If anything Celeine was even more pompous in her tone then her little sister.

Temari chuckled. "And it looks like a wonderful way to get your head bashed in." As if to illustrate this Temari swung back on her horse, the way she had been taught.

Celeine sniffed. "I doubt a barbarian like you could ever understand such matters."

Temari grinned. "Oh really? I admit if you are only going for appearance and no substance, well that way might be fine. It is pretty looking, and you can even wear that ridiculous looking thing." Temari gestured at the rather frilly dress that Celeine was wearing. "But the Sand cares more about what people can do, rather then what they look like. Like this."

With that Temari kicked at the horse's side. Normally she would have given a verbal command, but this was no Iifernati horse. Still she knew she could handle this. Katsu would not have allowed a niece of hers to be anything less than an excellent horsewoman. The horse, not used to this kind of treatment, reared. Temari, half expecting this, had been sure to point the beast away from the kids as it galloped off.

To Temari's immense pleasure the horse was a fast one, and she reached a nice fence in a few moments. She drove the horse towards the fence and neatly jumped the thing. She turned the horse, nice and wide, and jumped the fence again. She continued down the fence in this manner for a few minutes, and then turned the horse back towards the small group of Smoke.

_Hope this works._ She thought, and then she smoothly removed her feet from the stirrups. She gathered one foot on the horse's back and stood on the horse. The animal, which had never before had a human being stand on him, gave a startled whinny and reared again. Temari applied a bit of chakra to her feet, not enough to be noticeable by even another ninja and let go of the reins. The horse screamed in panic and bolted with Temari still balancing on its back. Temari remembered that her aunt would always leap into the air at this point, land on the horses' back with her hands, and then jump again, doing a strange kind of acrobatic cartwheel on horseback. However, this was something that required the cooperation of the horse, and Temari doubted that this beast could do it. So instead she merely lowered herself back on the horse. Buy now the horse had almost reached the open mouthed Smoke children. Temari abruptly stopped the beast right in from of them.

Realizing the poor thing was terrified, Temari slid off and tried to calm it down. The horse's eyes were rolling in fear. Temari felt a bit guilty, but she felt that she had to prove a point here.

"Now now, hush." She muttered, and then said a few of her aunt's phrases in the Iifernati tongue. They seemed to help a bit.

"You are mad." Celeine said in astonishment.

Temari, a hand still on the calming horse's head, turned to her "My aunt is a Horse Mistress. I know more about these animals than your average Iifernati. I defiantly know more than some pompous pampered 'lady' who can't even be bothered to ride like a normal person."

Celeine drew in a large breath, and that puffing sort of reminded Temari of a rather large puffer fish. "No doubt this is why your kind is so primitive. Putting women in such positions! You are a disgrace!" With this Celeine gently turned her horses head and walked off with as much dignity as one could while riding aside a horse.

_And this is why your kind will lose._ Temari thought. _You will keep underestimating us, and I can only hope that your father underestimates my brother as you underestimate me."_

Meanwhile the boys were practically jumping.

"Can you teach us that? Please!" Timius was practically jumping out of his skin.

Temari smiled. "Let's start at step one, shall we?"

* * *

Kankuro was fairly certain they were on an island. It looked that way from the tree he had climbed. It was a big island, full of trees on the south and west side where they had landed, and a large rocky region in the north. For some reason he shuddered every time he looked at those rocks. They made him feel very uneasy, as if something was lurking there.

Pushing the thought out of his head, Kankuro considered what he was going to do. From what he remembered they had basically fled the ship with nothing but his puppets and whatever Neji had in that weird bag of his. Kankuro kept really important things in a small compartment in the Crow's chest, like their money for instance as well as a small toolbox for his puppets. However, he did not have enough space for things like food or shelter. He could not see any other land in the distance, and so Kankuro thought that they might be here a while.

First things first, they needed shelter.

Kankuro was good at building shelters. Normally a ninja would only use the tents and rudimentary training in just about everything related to the theater. Not only in puppeteering, but also in dancing, singing, and so on. It was surprising how much the dancing contributed to ones grace. And, though Kankuro was not exactly the best singer he was not bad either. They also were required to know how to build things and work with wood. This, for some reason, included how to make basic shelters far more elaborate than the usual Sand strategy of "find a hole and huddle in it."

The Cockroach's metal scythes sliced through the palm trees. Kankuro had searched until he found a nice hill. With a flick Kankuro made the Cockroach slice the trunks of the palm trees into planks. Another flick and the Cockroach and the Crow where actually digging into the side of the hill, carving out a hole about the shape of a right triangle until it was the size that Kankuro wanted. It was now big enough to fit both him and Neji. Kankuro's chakra strings grabbed the planks and fit them over the triangle shaped hole. Then, because he hated to be cold and wet, Kankuro made sure to dig out a place for a fire as well as a small chimney near the entrance.

"Ah, shelter taken care of, right Crow?" Kankuro turned to his puppet, which was draped on his shoulder. The Crow's head tilted forwards with a click.

"Now all we need is some food." Kankuro had seen a little lagoon a few minutes' walk from the shelter. He didn't like sea food, but now was not the time to be picky.

Decided that he could not just leave the idiot Leaf just laying out here to be sunburned to a nice crisp, Kankuro grabbed Neji from where he had been on the ground and deposited him into the shelter. That done Kankuro left to catch a fish or two.

* * *

Neji awoke to find that he was lying in the dirt, with an odd slanted roof over his head. His entire body felt weak and tired. He wasn't sure if this was because of the immense amount of chakra he had used last night or an effect of the storm. Maybe it was both.

He blinked then activated his Byakugan. It appeared he was in some sort of shelter, and if the smell of freshly turned earth was any clue it was a new one as well. He could see Kankuro heading towards him, two fair sized fish dangling from his chakra strings. Neji snorted a bit at the smug look on the Sand Ninja's face. Neji would bet anything that the cheating Sand nin had just grabbed the fish with his strings and not fished properly.

"Well well, I didn't think you would bother to wake up." Kankuro said with a grin as he walked in the shelter.

Neji struggled to get up, but Kankuro easily pushed him over. Neji gritted his teeth. Kankuro had done that way too easily!

"Not a good idea. You got chakra exhaustion. You need to rest. And turn off those eyes, I doubt they will help." Kankuro said.

"How would you know?" Neji said. He did "turn off" the Byakugan, but Kankuro could tell from look on his face that Neji didn't like it at all. Chakra exhaustion was not something a shinobi normally suffered from. By the time they graduated from the Academy they had learned to control and monitor their own chakra levels. However, Neji had been so frantic last night that he had exhausted himself.

Kankuro grabbed a few small logs that he had collected earlier and built a nice fire. He stuck the two fish on a pair of sticks and held them over the fire to roast.

"I used to see it all the time when Gaara was younger." Kankuro said, focusing on his fish. "He'd go on a rampage and exhaust himself. I've never been sure if it was because the demon didn't know that Gaara had less chakra then it did or if it didn't care. Anyway, whenever Gaara would transform he would get chakra exhaustion. It's also happened to me."

"Really? When?"

"The invasion. That Uchiha brat was after us. Temari had already tried to slow him down, but she didn't succeed. I was going to try and hold him back, but that buggy friend of yours Shino came. His bugs pretty much drained me." Kankuro laughed to himself. "They didn't take it all, but after fighting with Naruto Gaara was exhausted again. I got it too after dragging him over the border. We both were a wreck then…" Kankuro shrugged.

Neji laughed a bit himself "Funny."

"What? You think exhausted Sand nins are funny?" Kankuro sounded mildly affronted, but Neji thought he detected a note of humor as well.

"No. It's you. You called Sasuke the Uchiha brat, but you called Shino by his name. I find that funny."

"Why?"

"I don't know, I just do." Neji said.

Kankuro shrugged "You should have learned by now by being in my head. I don't like traitors." Kankuro focused back on his fish "Although to be honest even if he was not a traitor I didn't like Uchiha to begin with."

"Why? Is it your sister?"

Kankuro glared at Neji "Why would you think that?"

"Just because every single female I have met has drooled over Sasuke at least once in their lives. Even Tenten has done it, even though she's the most sensible of the group."

"Pah, Demoneyes." Kankuro muttered as he turned the fish.

"What?" Neji asked.

"Iifernati thing."

"Tell me about it." Neji said.

Kankuro sighed "Well…hell. You're trying to make friends again aren't you?"

"I am. Look, Kankuro we are not going to get anywhere like this."

"Like what?"

"I know you don't like the dreams. I don't really like it either. But, at the very least, we need to be able to get along."

"You sound like Naruto now." Kankuro scoffed.

"Yeah, I know." Neji said. "Just humor me."

Kankuro rolled his eyes. "It's just something my people say about ocular jutsu." For a few minutes Kankuro stared at the fish, and then he continued. "You know the story about Toshi the Fatherless, the first ninja to join a tribe. The second to join a tribe was Atsuo Uchiha, who joined the Bloodied Dragons. But the Uchiha would not let him go. In those days, according to the Dragons the head of the Uchiha was a brutal monster. It is said that Atsuo fled, not because he wished it, but because the Uchiha had the habit of tearing out the eyes of their weaker members. Atsuo wanted the protection of the Dragons, which they gave. However, the Uchiha targeted the Dragons, and tried to exterminate them all. The Dragons and the Uchiha fought, with the Swooping Eagles helping the Dragons whenever they could. One day a powerful Uchiha, whom the Dragons only know as Demoneyes, fought Toshi the Fatherless. Toshi had dealt a powerful blow to Demoneyes' chakra; and was about to drive him away when something unexpected happened. Demoneyes' body transformed and he became an evil winged demon. Toshi and the demon fought for ten days, but in the end Toshi was unable to keep the demon from killing Atsuo and ripping his eyes from his sockets. Atsuo, however, left a son and daughter behind, that Demoneyes was unaware of.

The Dragons say that the Sharingan is more than just a jutsu, it is the bloodline of a demon. They say that the line of Uchiha is cursed, and that any who use the Sharingan for too long will lose their metaphorical sight in exchange for a physical power. The price for such a gift is the loss of perspective and wisdom. In short, the Uchiha are descended from demons. Not the same demons as the tailed ones, but different demons. Though the Uchiha blood runs through the veins of Dragons they are forbidden from using the Sharingan. If they do they are put to death. The Dragons do not see Sharingan users as humans, but monsters. They believe that something evil fuels the Sharingan, and any who use it will fall victim."

Neji blinked. "That is unbelievable."

"Is it?" Kankuro said. "Uchiha tried to kill Naruto, the boy who keeps bellowing that they are friends. He's turned his back on his village, the people he is supposed to protect and defend. And, to be honest, has he ever cared for anyone other than himself?"

Neji wanted to come to the defense of Sasuke, but he could not. Everything that Kankuro had said was true. And there was something else; the demon that Kankuro had mentioned. Neji had heard from Naruto that the cursed mark had warped Sasuke into a demon, but what if it had not been the mark?

What if Sasuke was already a demon and the mark had just brought his real form to life? But no, that could not be it. Orochimaru's forces had all be able to transform.

But still, Neji could not get the thought out of his head.


	47. Chapter 47

Chapter Forty-Seven

The Fall of the Fourth (Part One)

Throughout the first day of the ninja army march Gaara could hear the words of his uncle echoing in his mind. He had not forgotten what his uncle had told him that night on the Hyuga roof, and the conclusions that he had come to made him uncomfortable. He hated to admit it, but Jhimey had been right in saying that Gaara was treating him unfairly. Gaara was acting like the people who had judged him so harshly in his youth, and he had to face that fact that what he was doing was not fair. However, in order to fix this he would have to do something that he truly, deeply did not want to do. Apologize and talk to his uncle.

Gaara sighed deeply. He did not want to do this.

"You okay?" Zirru said. He and Apototius were flanking him as they jumped through the trees, right above where the Iifernati were riding in a mildly haphazard mob. The other ninja, Sand and Leaf, had also taken to the treetops, gathered loosely in their team formations. It was hard to say which group was less organized: the Iifernati or the ninja. The ninja basically had set up a rendezvous point and had agreed to meet there. However how and when the individual teams got there was their own business. The Iifernati ran in a mob, but unlike the ninja they were basically all in the same cluster of galloping hooves.

"I'm alright." Gaara said. He liked Zirru and Apototius well enough, he just really could not confide in them. They were good and loyal ninja, and aside from his own siblings there was no one he would rather have on side in a fight. However, they were not his family. They would not understand the issues he had with his father and uncles.

"I am going down there for a few seconds; I need to speak with Huur Jhimey." Gaara said "Stay up here and keep on the course."

Zirru looked at him. "Are you sure?"

"Very." Gaara said as he ducked down out of the trees, leaving Zirru and Apototius behind.

After scanning the crowd of Iifernati for a bit Gaara finally spotted Jhimey riding near the front, along with Katsu and Iren. Gaara felt a jolt of pure terror in his stomach. There was no way he wanted to hash out his issues with his family in front of an audience. Perhaps if he were polite enough his uncle would agree to a meeting later at the rendezvous? It was worth a shot.

Jumping even lower till he was even with his uncle Gaara ran beside Jhimey for a brief moment. He wanted to say something, but for some reason his mouth refused to open.

Finally Jhimey looked at Gaara "I hate when ninja do that. Do you need something, Gaara?"

"We must speak." Gaara said.

"Yes…" Jhimey drew the silence out, as if waiting for Gaara to fill it.

"Can I speak with you alone once we have reached our destination?" Gaara asked.

For a horrifying five minutes Gaara feared that Jhimey would say no. The man frowned deeply, and even took his hands off his horse's reins to scratch his thin beard. It was odd, but the gesture seemed almost nervous, though Gaara could not see why Jhimey would be nervous.

"Alright." Jhimey nodded.

Gaara wanted to sigh in relief. He nodded at Jhimey and then leaped back into the trees. He knew he should feel better about this, but for some reason the knots in his stomach seemed to grow tighter.

* * *

"Do you think he is going to ask about your brother?" Katsu asked quietly.

"Defiantly." Jhimey said. His horse's ears were twitching in agitation as they picked up his rider's emotions.

Katsu drove her own mount closer and touched her husband on the shoulder. "Are you going to be alright?"

Jhimey shuddered once, and then seemed to gather himself. "I don't know."

"I will be here." Katsu said quietly, but Jhimey heard all the same.

* * *

The rendezvous point was a chaotic scene. They had only traveled a day, and while the borderlands between Fire and Wind were close they were still deep in the woods. The ninja, used to small campsites, were unused to the more communal approach of the Iifernati. The Iifernati could not figure out why the ninja were so nervous and jumpy. At first it was an almost chaotic scene, but in the end the ninja found themselves scattered around in a circle, with the Iifernati camping in the center of the circle. This was a good arrangement not only helped calm the nervous ninja, but it also served as an effective defense. No one would be getting through to the Iifernati with eddy ninja circling them, though the ninja were careful not to mention this to their proud allies.

After making sure his people were not going to jump out of their skins in the unfamiliar leafy environment, Gaara sought out his uncle.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of you wandering off with some tribesman." Apototius growled.

"He's my uncle, and we need to talk." Gaara said. "You and Zirru can visit Maira. I doubt that you have had enough time with her to catch up."

Apototius' eyes lit up at the suggestion. Zirru grinned broadly, and the two of them went off to find their former teammate were the Bloodied Dragons had gathered together.

After a few moments Gaara found Jhimey. As he approached his uncle Gaara felt the knot tighten some more. Now it was almost like a physical thing gripping his insides. He wondered if he was going to burst.

Jhimey and Katsu were taking care of their horse, and seemed deeply involved in the task. Gaara walked over to them and watched. He wondered if he would have to get Jhimey's attention.

"Give me a few minutes. I have to get him settled." Jhimey said. Gaara closed his eyes and nodded. Despite his usual collected appearance he just could not seem to relax. For some reason he felt horrible, and he did not know why.

Finally Jhimey finished with his horse. He nodded to Katsu, who was giving them both a concerned look.

"Let's find somewhere a little more private." Jhimey said. Gaara could not help but notice a very odd expression on his uncle's face. It was a strange combination of simmering anger, sorrow and…fear?

With a jolt a small memory returned to Gaara. He was a young child, about a year or so after the disaster with his other uncle. He had a habit of prowling around the Kazekage tower, as if trying to remind his hated father of his presence. He had heard shouting and bellowing coming from his father's office, and he had gone there, eager to see bloodshed of some type. Eventually he heard his own name mentioned, as well as Kankuro's, but he could not hear exactly what was being said. As he approached he witnessed the door fly open and a strange bearded man stormed out, a man that Gaara now could identify as Jhimey. For a moment their eyes met, and the hatred and anger on the man's face was so familiar to him. In the young boy's mind there had been no doubt that the anger was aimed at him. Gaara considered killing him, but then something changed. Jhimey's face changed from a picture of rage to an odd, sad frown of pity. Unable to bear to the thought of pity instead of fear, Shukaku urged Gaara to turn away. Gaara, trusting his demon mother implicitly, followed the instruction and stormed out.

While this memory was very disturbing to Gaara, he was determined to talk to his uncle. He was not going to be like the people who had hurt him so badly in his youth.

"If you will allow me, I can take us somewhere private. We will need to use my sand." Gaara said.

Jhimey's hands twitched, as if he wanted to clench them. "Go ahead. Any chance we can go there?" Jhimey nodded at a small grassy cliff in the distance.

"Why?" Gaara asked.

"I like elevation." Jhimey said.

The sand swirled as Gaara took them a few miles away from the campsite, on the hill where they could talk in private. However, now that they were alone Gaara wasn't sure what to say.

"I-" he began. "I have thought about the things you said to me that night on the Hyuga roof. I realize that my treatment of you has been inexcusable. I-"

Jhimey shook his head and held up his hand. He walked over to the edge of the cliff and stared at the trees. Finally, he spoke "I know that you hate Hajeem, and with good reason. I just…" Jhimey shook his head again. "There is so much you don't know…"

"Tell me." Gaara said. "I have never wanted to hear of him before, but I think that you need to say this. And I need to hear it."

"Understand this, Gaara; I can't condone what Hajeem has done. What he did to you was inexcusable but…"

"There is a reason he acted the way he did, isn't there?" Gaara said.

Jhimey sighed and to Gaara's immense surprise he plopped down on the ground, legs swinging precariously over the cliff's edge. Jhimey's eyes were fixed on the horizon, as if looking at something far away.

"We are both the youngest sons." Jhimey began. "My father, your grandfather, was the leader of the Swooping Eagles. Tierin. He was one of the greatest shinobi of his time, as well as a great Huur. He was a master of both the wind jutsu and of the sand as well. He could mold the sand with the wind and turn it into a weapon. He trained his three children, me, Hajeem and our sister Arlua. Our sister, despite being the middle child, was doted upon both my father and Hajeem. In many ways she and Hajeem were like twins, because they were only one year apart in age. I was much younger in comparison, and I looked up to both of them. The day that Hajeem and Arlua made chunin Hajeem and I discovered that Arlua had been seeing a young Leaf ninja. At first we merely teased her about this, but one night she slipped away from the camp to see _him_. We followed, expecting to see a romantic interlude that we could tease her about…what we found…" Jhimey's head fell on his hands and for a few seconds he gasped for air.

"We found five of them, five Leafs. They were killing her. Worse then that, it was…slow. Slow torture. It was not just death but _lingering_. I can't even…Do you understand, Gaara?"

Gaara started. Yes, he knew what Jhimey meant. Long ago Baki had told the siblings about that. Torturing your enemy to death. Even as twisted as he had been as youth Gaara had found the idea appalling. Even to Shukaku, who only killed and killed, the thought was disgusting. It had been a warning to them. If ever you find your teammate in that situation, kill them, because there were some things even worse than death.

"No." Gaara whispered. "Leaf ninja…no…they would not. Naruto would not-"

"Do you think I can't recognize a Leaf symbol when I see it, _boy_?" Jhimey turned on Gaara, and for a brief moment Gaara did not see his uncle at all, but his father. "I can still hear her screams every time I see one of their damn symbols! Every time one of them talks to me it is all I can do not to see their faces and smell their foul stench! And Hajeem…it was worse for him. He tried to help, tried to stop them, but they hurt him too. Beat him mercilessly, and would have killed him as well, if our father had not shown up. Our father fought them, and ordered Hajeem to take me away and get the tribe. We were so…confident in our father's strength. We thought that our father was invincible. We were wrong. By the time we got back with reinforcements they were both dead. Can you even imagine what that's like?"

Unbidden, unwilling, Gaara could see it in his mind. But instead of his father, the two bodies he saw in him mind laying dead in the sand were his sister and brother. The thought of the two of them, the most precious people in his life…dead, the thought was unbearable. And that was only in his imagination. The reality was far worse. Could only be worse.

Gaara sat down beside his uncle with a dull thud. "Why." He muttered.

"I don't know. I never did." Jhimey said. "But…after that the Third Great Shinobi War broke out. Our Kazekage was gone, and the leader of the most powerful of our tribes was dead. People said it was the Earth ninja that took the Third Kazekage, and of course the Leaf was responsible for killing our father."

Gaara jerked. "Wait…I've heard reports that several Fire diplomats were assassinated by Sand ninja, and that a village boarding the Earth was destroyed by the Earth ninja." Gaara stared out at the trees. "If similar attacks were preformed in the Land of Earth, then perhaps-"

"You suspect something?" Jhimey asked.

"Yes. Several things, actually. My father's papers are filled with rather odd rambling conspiracy theories. One them suggests that the Third Great Shinobi War was staged by someone, though who that someone was there is little evidence." Gaara said. "Along with these rambles there is reference to something called ROOT."

"ROOT, I have never heard of that." Jhimey said.

"It bears considering. Perhaps my father was not as mad as I thought." Gaara and his uncle sat in silence for a while "There is more, isn't there?"

"Yes." Jhimey said. "But-but I can't say any more. You need to digest this, and I can't go on. Not yet."

Gaara nodded. Then, before his own inherent shyness could stop him, he impulsively hugged his uncle. It was brief, but it was strong.

"I'm so sorry, Uncle." Gaara said.

"It's alright." Jhimey said. But Gaara could feel the man's tears dripping onto his shoulder, and he knew that it wasn't.

* * *

"Hey Gaara-...hey are you alright?" Naruto, who had just got back from setting up a camp with his team, had found Gaara sitting in a tree. Gaara had needed some time alone to think, and had left Baki in charge of the Sand ninja while he thought. Gaara desperately wished he had taken his father's notes a bit more seriously. Instead he had let his hate for his father's actions blind him to a possible problem. So when Naruto, through whatever odd radar he seemed to posses, had bounced cheerily up at him Gaara had not exactly been in the best of moods. And Naruto, despite being rather oblivious most times, somehow managed to key in to Gaara's foul mood.

For a moment Gaara hesitated. He did want to talk to somebody about what he had just learned, but for a second he was almost afraid of Naruto. Naruto was, after all, a Leaf. But the moment was gone. No matter what these other Leafs had done to his long dead aunt Naruto was different. Gaara knew that Naruto, of all people, would follow the ninja code he had set for himself, no matter how inconvenient it may be.

"Naruto," Gaara said quietly "Have you ever heard of something called ROOT?"

"Huh, actually I think that Sai is a member of that group, but I'm not sure what they do." Naruto said, folding his arms and furroing his brow in an effort to get the rusty gears in his head rolling.

Gaara nearly shivered, but kept his composure. Very quietly, with an ear out for Naruto's new teammate, Gaara recounted his conversation with Jhimey. By the tjime he was finished Naruto looked absolutely flabbergasted.

"What! Are you serious?" Naruto asked. Gaara nodded. "Why that little rat!" Naruto bellowed "I thought he had changed! I'm going to go give him a piece of my mind!"

Gaara, feeling slightly panicked, immobilized Naruto's feet with his sand. Ignoring Naruto's screech of protest, Gaara said "Wait."

"Why! They shouldn't be able to get away with that! Not with murder! I-"Naruto.

"Naruto, think for a moment. We do not have the entire story. We only have the claims of my uncle and a vague memory of my father's ranting and that it hardly enough to make any sort of case, much less a reason to go after your teammate."

"Well, what do we do then?" Naruto asked. "I mean, it sounds like you think that ROOT might have set up that last war."

"Perhaps they did, perhaps they didn't. We just do not have that much information." Gaara said. "For all we know it might have been a coincidence. We should not make a move until we ar"e sure.

"Hey! Know who we should tell! Sakura and Shino! Normally I would talk to Shikamaru and Neji too, but they aren't here. But Sakura and Shino are pretty smart!"

Gaara thought about that. He didn't' want to spread his families dirty laundry across the Leaf village, but if his guess was right this was not just about his family. "All right." He said. "But later. We need to think these through."

"Aww, I hate thinking things through." Naruto grumbled. "I'd rather just go confront these root guys right now!"

"Naruto, you want to be Hokage?"

"Of course, and I will be!" Naruto said.

"Then, as one Kage to a future one, trust me when I say this. Sometimes it is better to wait for an enemy to make a move, rather than charging in."

"Oh," Naruto grumbled "All right.."

Gaara was satisfied, for now. He was certain that, out of all the Leaf, Naruto could be trusted. He just did not know what to feel about the rest of them. He would have to keep an even closer eye on his allies from now on, if they could even still be called allies. He wondered if this new wariness, this new feeling of not knowing who to trust, had been felt by his father. If so it was no wonder that his father turned out so twisted.

Little did he know that the worst was yet to come.

* * *

A/N: I really disliked writing this chapter. I don't really enjoy these kind of scenes, but it is necessary for the plot. I just hope no one brings out the tiny violins.


	48. Chapter 48

Chapter Forty-Eight

Team Dynamics

By the time that Team 8 had set up their camp along the ninja circle that surrounded the Iifernati camp Hiashi's headache had mostly abated. Unfortunately the headache had been replaced by a feeling of sheer annoyance with life in general and his new team in particular. To be even more painfully specific: Kiba and the mutt. The two of them had spent the entire journey between him and Hinata, flanking her like a pair of bodyguards. While Kiba did not actually growl at him, Akamaru did. In fact the dog seemed to be under the impression that a growl was needed as soon as Hiashi got within four feet of Hinata. Hinata's attitude also contributed to Hiashi's annoyance. Rather than tell Kiba and Akamaru off Hinata actually seemed to encourage them, refusing to look at Hiashi for more than a few seconds at a time and always staying as far away from him as possible. Hiashi couldn't really figure out how he was supposed to get closer to Hinata when his daughter would not even give him the chance. Shino was the only one who didn't irritate him, if only because Shino said nothing and kept whatever opinions, negative or otherwise, to himself.

In actually, Hinata was not really scared of Hiashi, not anymore. Yes she often found herself nervous when talking to him, but now that Hiashi had basically invaded her team and taken over Hinata now felt something completely different. She could not help but be incredibly, almost irrationally, angry at Hiashi.

"Does he really think I am that weak?" She had asked Kiba back in the Leaf Village while Hiashi had been busy with her grandmother "He has to come in and monitor what I do?"

"If he does he is more a fool then I ever thought." Shino had muttered back. It was almost impossible to tell his own anger from his body language, but his harsh tone was a dead giveaway.

Hinata was grateful to her two teammates. They, if not her father, felt that she was worth something. The two of them had become almost like brothers to her. She knew she could trust them, but she was not so sure about her own father. Yes, she loved him, he was her father after all, but how long had it been since he had been an active shinobi? How did he expect to keep up with the team? Had he even taught a team before now? Yes he had trained Kurenai, but that had been years ago. More so it had been an apprenticeship, similar to the training of Anko by Orochimaru, not team training. Hinata knew Hiashi was good enough at training Byakugan users, but being part of a team was more than just one technique, and fighting in the real world was different then being in a nice safe dojo at home. Though she would never admit it to him, Hinata feared that Hiashi would be a liability come battle time.

So she did not talk to him, did not even meet his eyes for very long. She was afraid if she talked to Hiashi she would end up shouting at him, or saying something she would regret later. She had no control over the decision to make Hiashi leader of Team 8, but she could damn well keep an eye on Hiashi. When he got in trouble she would be there to save his stupid prideful hide.

By the time the tent was set up Hinata's nerves were frayed. The team had gone about it with their usual efficiency, while Hiashi simply watched them for a few moments. After it seemed clear that they were just setting up a tent, Hiashi marched off into the woods.

"Where are you going?" Kiba asked scornfully.

"Do you want to eat tonight, or not?" Hiashi replied.

"What are you going to do? Demand the deer come and fall at your feet?" Kiba snorted. Hiashi did not even bother to answer.

"Hinata, you know I love you, but your father is an idiot." Kiba said once Hiashi had gone.

Hinata sighed. "Yes, he is. Shino?"

"If you insist." Shino said. He lifted his arms and a pair of his bugs fluttered from under his sleeve. "Go." The two bugs buzzed into the general direction of Hiashi. "I already put a female on him. The other two will alert us if he gets in over his head." Shino said. He had done this without Hiashi's knowledge, but as far as Shino was concerned Hiashi did not deserve said knowledge.

To Team 8's surprise Hiashi not only came back with a pheasant, speared neatly on a single well placed sebon, as well as some herbs for spicing the bird. Hinata assumed that he used the Byakugan to spot the bird, as well the herbs.

"I do hope at least one of you gathered wood." Hiashi said.

"Grrrr." Akamaru appeared from behind a tree, a bunch of sticks in his mouth. The big dog dropped the sticks on an already good sized pile of wood, all dripping with dog drool.

Hiashi nodded at Akamaru "Thank you." He half expected the dog to reply, as he had never been able to get Kuromaru, Tsume's dog, to shut up. However, Akamaru just snapped at his hand and swaggered over to Hinata and dropped down at her feet. Akamaru leaned on Hinata and wagged his tail. Hinata smiled and gave the big dog a nice scratch behind his ears. Hiashi looked on and tried not to show any emotion. Years of practice served him well in this.

Hiashi knew that he would have to assess the skills of Team 8, a feat that he knew as going to be painful. He knew perfectly well they were not going to just talk to him, and besides that talking was not the way to assess a team. To his shame Hiashi had never actually seen his daughter's full team in action, as he had always been busy being a clan lord.

"While I take care of this, I want to see what you can do by a short sparing match before we eat." Hiashi said; ignoring the various glares he was receiving from the team. "Hinata, Kiba, would you please start."

"You'd think after training her you would at least know what she's capable of." Kiba sneered.

"I am perfectly aware of Hinata's skills." Hiashi said "However I have not seen any of the rest of you fight."

Kiba was about to say something even more sneering, but Hiashi was not done "If you are half the ninja your mother is then I don't doubt that you are skilled, but going into battle without knowledge of your team's abilities is unwise."

"First off, you don't have to lecture us, grandpa, we know all of this." Kiba said. "And second, we are not _your _team." Kiba glared at Hiashi, who glared right back at him. Hiashi was not going to be lured into a fight with this boy, and he was not going to back down either. Eventually Kiba jerked his head away with a growl. He, Akamaru and Hinata walked to the center of the clearing and prepared to spar.

Hiashi watched with some interest as Akamaru turned into a clone of Kiba and the two of them started to lunge and slash at Hinata, who deflected their blows with graceful ease. Hiashi was a bit annoyed to discover that, unlike himself and Neji, Hinata's movements were much less aggressive and much defensive. Instead of pursuing her opponents she waited until they came to her. Although he had to admit she was very precise and accurate, rarely wasting a single step or strike. Still, it was annoying to him. He had always used the Gentle Fist rather aggressively, and expected his daughter to do the same.

Hiashi decided to focus on Kiba, instead of his daughter. To his eyes Kiba was almost exactly like Tsume, the movements and style were almost exactly the same. Hiashi could not help but wonder…

Swiftly, keeping one eye on the two combatants, Hiashi began to scrawl something in the dirt. He could feel Shino's eyes on him, practically judging him, but he ignored the sensation. Finally, he said "Stop. Come here."

"What is it?" Kiba asked. "You got a problem?"

"No, a question. Come here."

Kiba grumbled, but complied. When he looked down at the dirt where Hiashi was still scribbling he snorted "The hell is that?"

"Something I probably should have shown the both of you sooner." Hiashi shrugged. He had intended to share some of the techniques arraigned by himself and Tsume a long time ago, but something had always distracted him. A new issue in the clan here, a political incident there, and his own doubts in Hinata's abilities, all contributed to his putting off actually showing off some of the more interesting maneuvers that he and Tsume had come up with as genin.

"Wow, big bad clan leader drawing stick figures in the dirt." Kiba mocked. "Art not your thing?" Hiashi ignored him

"Say, for example," Hiashi said "that this right here is an opponent" Hiashi tapped at a very crudely drawn stick figure. "If Hinata were to use the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation in front of the enemy" Hiashi pointed at another stick figure standing in the middle of a circle "and then if Kiba would perform the Fang over Fang technique directly in front of the enemy." Hiashi pointed to the little spiral circles on the other side of the figure. "Then the force of Kiba's attack would drive the foe right into the Palm Rotation, crushing him."

Kiba and Hinata just stared at the stick figures. Hiashi could not read the expression on their faces.

"That sounds very dangerous." Shino said. "If Kiba were time the attack wrong, or if Hinata were unable to maintain the Rotation, then they could both be seriously injured."

"Indeed." Hiashi said. "Kiba's timing would have to be perfect. He would have to be able to judge the strength of the Rotation to prevent accidently piercing it, or slamming into Hinata when she slows down. Tsume and I were only able to maintain this attack for a second before she would have to stop her own attack. However, a second was usually all it took to crush someone."

Hinata just couldn't stop staring at Hiashi as if he had lost his mind. He knew very well that she was not that good at the Palm Rotation; it was a point of contention for them. Yes, she had developed her own technique, the Protective Trigrams, but she had never told Hiashi of this. She was far to embarrassed to tell him that she had developed her own technique, as if afraid to jinx it somehow. Intellectually she thought that if she wanted to perform this new maneuver of her father's then she would want to use her Protective Trigrams, not the Heavenly Spin. She would have more control. In her mind she could see Kiba and her performing this technique using the Protective Trigrams, and if they did…well wouldn't that slice the enemy to pieces, instead of merely crushing?

However, Hiashi was continuing "You can start by simply leaping at Hinata while she spins, in order to get the basic idea down, as well as the timing."

"Hey, who said we were going to do this?" Kiba said. While he liked the idea of crushing people he did not like the idea of working with Hiashi.

Hinata grabbed Kiba's arm and tugged him back into the clearing. "L-let's give it a shot." She said. She liked the idea of turning an opponent into hamburger, and did not want to let the idea go. Besides, she knew how effective Hiashi's training could be.

Kiba grumbled until Hinata whispered to him. "Think Kiba. If I used my Protective Trigrams instead of the Heavenly Spin…"

Kiba's eyes brightened, but then he frowned. "Why don't you suggest-"

"Kiba, he doesn't know about it." Hinata said quietly.

"Ah. Okay then. We can try it when he is not looking." Kiba grinned and backed up a few paces. Hinata slowly started slow form version of the Heavenly Spin, a form used to teach beginners. It was simply a slowed down version of the actual attack, with no chakra at all. Kiba backed up and then charged at her. At the last moment he would leap in the air and spin a little, but not fast enough to make an attack. The first time they did this Kiba did indeed collide with Hinata. The two ended up in a heap on the forest floor. Not to be deterred, they got up and tried again. They were both used to long practice sessions from their work on the Protective Trigrams.

Hiashi was greatly pleased by this. They barely needed any supervision from him at all. That was the good thing about older shinobi. Unlike fresh genin they were not afraid of practice.

"Wow, so you finally decided to teach them that?" Hiashi tried not to groan when he heard that voice. Tsume was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. It had been going so well!

"Yes." Hiashi said simply. "And what have you imparted to them lately?"

"Oh that's rich!" Tsume replied. "As if anyone could pry you out of that hermit shell of yours!"

"I hardly think that a compound with over thirty people is a hermit cave." Hiashi retorted. "And I also note that you made no effort to come around."

"I don't go where I am not welcome."

"In the case of teaching our children I would think nothing would stop you."

"You know if you ever opened your eyes and took that stick out of your ass-"

"Would you stop talking about my ass!" Hiashi bellowed.

There was a very long silence as both Kiba and Hinata stared at him from where they had landed after their fifth go round practicing the new technique. Akamaru wagged his tail and woofed his approval. Hiashi could swear he heard an odd sound coming from Shino, as if the man was struggling not to chortle.

Kuromaru hacked "Look, either go ahead and fight or get a bush. I'm losing my patience with the both of you and it has only been a day."

Hiashi glared at Kuromaru "You're the most uncouth furry monster I have ever had the misfortune to meet.

"And you're the most cat minded human I have ever met. Idiot." The dog retorted. "Stop pretending you're not a tom."

Hiashi wanted to kill the mutt. How dare he bring _that_ up in front of his daughter!

Shino couldn't help himself "I agree with the dog. You two were practically flirting."

"We're not flirting!" The two older shinobi bellowed in tandem.

Hinata was unable to take this anymore. Bad enough that her father and Kiba's mother were fighting, and in fact seemed to fight every time they came together, but the fact that Kuromaru was suggesting that her father and Tsume…Ew! Yes Hinata was aware of how the world worked, but she didn't want to hear about her father doing things! It was just too weird. It was bad enough when her grandmother kept cornering her trying to figure out exactly what Hinata did with Kiba when they trained, as if ninja had orgies instead of actual work! As if she would ever even kiss Kiba! It would be like trying to kiss Neji! Infuriated, Hinata turned around and marched off.

"Hinata! Where are you going?" Hiashi bellowed.

"Anyplace as long as it is where you're not!" Hinata screeched without even looking at her father.

"Now see what you've done, you little bitch!" Hiashi turned back to Tsume.

"You better watch that tongue of yours before I snatch it out and fry it on a stick!" Tsume retorted. Hinata sped up.

A few moments later Kiba and Shino caught up with her.

"I'm sorry." Shino said. "I was only trying to rile him up, not upset you."

"D-do you really think they were flirting?" Hinata asked.

"No." Shino said. After a pause he continued "But they were acting a bit like my parents when they disagree on the way to raise their children."

"I didn't think Aburame's shouted." Kiba said.

"They don't. But the general attitude was the same." Shino said.

Akamaru paused, and then barked a bit. Kiba stared at his partner in shock "No, really?"

Hinata frowned at Akamaru. "What?"

"It sounds like he thinks…that our parents might have." Kiba made a helpless gesture "You know. He says he could smell something funny when they are around each other."

Hinata shuddered. "I would rather not think of that." She said.

"I know what you mean." Kiba said. "Don't take me wrong, I'd love to have you as my sister, Hinata, but I wouldn't be able to handle your father. He gives me the creeps."

Akamaru woofed in agreement.


	49. Chapter 49

An Author's Note: I've decided to make a minor format change after this chapter. From chapter fifty on I am going to use numbers instead of writing them out, mostly because I am just getting tired of writing the numbers out. Probably not going to go back and change the rest of them, though. I doubt any of you really care, but I thought it would be nice to give a heads up.

Chapter Forty-Nine

When Night Falls

"Will you stop that?" Neji asked "You are making me nervous."

"I can't help it, something is bugging me." Kankuro said as he paced about the cramped shelter like a caged animal. "Something is wrong here."

Neji sighed. Kankuro had been increasingly edgy ever since noon. It started with what Kankuro described as a feeling of unease. As the evening wore on Kankuro became more and more disturbed by something. Eventually he couldn't even stand still, and had started this pacing around.

Neji activated his bloodline limit. He scanned the beach, nothing. He scanned the trees, nothing, save for a small herd of wild pig, some small monkeys and a few wildcats. He scanned the rocky hills. Beneath the hills was a system of caves. There were a lot of skeletons in the caves, but other than that nothing. With his eyes Neji could scan the entire island. And, just as he had found the last time he had done this, Neji found nothing.

"Kankuro, there is nothing here. Save your energy and stop this. Who knows when we might need you?"

Kankuro snorted, but gave no other indication that he heard Neji. The puppet ninja's eyes were darting towards those hills. If Neji didn't know better he would have said it was almost in a nervous manner, though Neji knew Kankuro would never admit being nervous about anything.

Neji was starting to get irritated with Kankuro. The man never listened to him! Neji didn't like being in charge of Kankuro anymore then Kankuro liked it. Neji didn't really like Kankuro's company, period. Neji was so used to his own positive minded team that Kankuro's attitude was just rubbing the wrong way. He never would have thought that he would miss Guy and Lee's antics so much! But he did. He even missed that stupid cheer that Guy had come up with! But instead of them he was stuck with a foul tempered, ill mannered Sand ninja, who, for some reason, saw Neji as more of an enemy then anything. Yes, Neji sort of sympathized with the man's rather upsetting childhood, but that did not change the fact that Kankuro seemed determined to drive Neji up the wall with his attitude, and in truth Neji was sick and fed up with it all.

Neji's hand somehow found its way to the odd rune he had taken from the werewolf, the rune that seemed to control Kankuro. He had tied it to his bag's strap, so he could reach the thing if he needed it. He had wondered if that would upset Kankuro, but the man didn't seem to notice. Either that or Kankuro had chosen not to care. Neji still found Kankuro hard to read at times. But Kankuro was not the only thing disturbing Neji. Even the rune felt odd! Hot, somehow. Whenever he concentrated on the thing it seemed to give off a feeling of unease. Neji didn't like this anymore then Kankuro's nonsense.

"Stop it." Neji said, losing his patience fast.

Kankuro snarled at him. "Don't order me around, Hyuga."

"I've had enough!" Neji leapt to his feet. "You can't just keep ignoring me or belittling me like this! I won't have it!"

Kankuro growled again. Neji was aware that the sun was starting to set. He was dimly aware that the werewolfism might be part of Kankuro's attitude, but Neji was on a roll now.

"You have to listen to me!" Neji said.

"Why, because you have that thing?" Kankuro pointed at the rune. "Because you're a Leaf? Or is it because you're a Hyuga and I'm just a commoner?"

"You listen to me, because I am the only one of us in his right mind!" Neji said. "And I'm not ashamed of being a Hyuga. Stop trying to throw it in my face! I was born better then you; live with it!"

Kankuro stiffened. Neji regretted the words almost instantly. He didn't really mean it, not the way it came out. He only meant that, as a noble family, the Hyuga were socially better. A Hyuga would get farther in political circles then a half Iifernati Sand ninja. And, Neji was a genius, after all. It was something he was still proud of. But as soon as he said it Neji knew that Kankuro would take it the wrong way.

But Kankuro was pissed now "You wear their stupid little robes and use their stupid little techniques, strutting and swaggering around like some overstuffed rooster, and you think that makes you better than me? You're just like that lemon faced woman from your past. Nothing but a typical Leaf Hyuga!"

Neji might have apologized to Kankuro, had he not mentioned Neji's grandmother. The only indication of just how enraged Neji was a kind of tightening, a stiffness that went from the head down. He stepped closer to Kankuro until he was an inch from the other shinobi's nose. His hand once again found the rune and gripped it.

"Sit down." Neji said, in the exact same tone one would use for a disobedient dog. Kankuro grimaced, and for a second Neji thought they would come to blows, but to his surprise Kankuro dropped to the ground. Neji felt a jolt of resentment and hate come from the rune, and with a jolt he realized that two things. First, he was somehow picking up Kankuro's emotions through the rune, as he could see that same resentment and hatred etched on Kankuro's face. Second, the only reason Kankuro was not at his throat right now was because of the rune.

All of a sudden Neji realized exactly what he was doing, and who he was acting like. He felt sick with self disgust. Once again he wanted to apologize to Kankuro, but at that moment Kankuro let out a groan. It was the teeth that started first this time, the long sharp fangs that seemed almost to burst out of Kankuro's mouth. The fur began to spread over Kankuro's shoulders and back, and out towards his hands and feet. The claws came, and the bones snapped as they rearranged themselves into a more wolfy state. All throughout the transformation Kankuro stared at Neji with hate filled eyes. Even when the brown shifted to red, and the whites filled with yellow Neji could still see the hate there.

Kankuro didn't howl or growl. In fact he made no other sound. Instead the wolf turned his back on Neji and curled up on the sand. There was one single huff, and a dismissive tail flick, and Kankuro was silent.

"Kankuro, I'm sorry." Neji said, but the wolf gave no indication that he understood. "I didn't mean it that way. I just meant…I…" there was absolutely no way he could explain this, and he was not even sure if Kankuro could understand in this state.

There was a sudden boom of thunder, and then rain started to come down in buckets. Neji was about to order the werewolf inside the shelter, but the thought of ordering Kankuro again like that made Neji feel sick.

"It's going to get cold out here. Kankuro…I…do whatever you want, just don't rip my throat out." Neji shrugged and went back inside the shelter. He hoped that Kankuro would come in, but he did not.

Neji lay down on the ground and fretted for a two solid hours. He wanted to drag Kankuro in here, being outside wouldn't be good for him. But, at the same time Neji just could not face Kankuro, not right now. Neji realized what he had done was despicable, but he did not really know how to fix it. He could make his apologies tomorrow, when Kankuro was saner, but Neji did not know if he would be forgiven. For some reason those hate filled eyes haunted Neji, and he couldn't get that glare out of his head.

Neji sighed as turned on his back for the third time that night. All he could hear was thunder, and it was maddening to him. He didn't know how Kankuro was doing out there. Neji was shivering with cold at the moment, and it must be just as bad for Kankuro out there, even with his thick furry coat.

Neji opened his eyes. He could hear something between the booms of thunder, a thumping noise, almost like footsteps. Neji lifted his head off the ground and stared at the dark entrance of the shelter. He could see something moving out there, the shadows moving around out there…

His ninja instincts screaming at him, Neji gathered his legs beneath his feet and got to stand up. Before he could even lift the rest of his body of the dirt he heard a terrible creak and the wooden planks began to bend inward and splinter. Now really alarmed, Neji activated his Byakugan. He gasped.

"No, it can't be!" He said as the planks gave way, and a long stark white thing burst into the shelter. Neji backed to the other end of the shelter. The white thing retracted, and another white object entered in its stead, but this object was as round as a ball, with a square attachment on the bottom.

With empty, soulless eye sockets, the skull pointed itself at Neji. The fleshless mouth opened, but no sound issued from its maw.

Neji gritted his teeth and shoved the skull backwards out of the hole in his shelter. With his Byakugan he could see more skeletons, and a few half rotted bodies, shambling around out there. He could see Kankuro's dark form, whirling around and slashing at the dead men with his long claws. Kankuro was surrounded by the undead things.

Neji ran out of the shelter and began spinning, deflecting the skeletons back. He fought his way to Kankuro's side. Neji's hands flashed out and struck the skeletons. Most of their frail, brittle bones shattered on impact. Kankuro's sharp fangs and claws ripped at the dead creature's rotted flesh and broke bones. However, for each skeleton that Neji struck down or Kankuro ripped to shreds, there were two more in its place.

Neji was not sure how long they fought against the skeletons. It had to have been hours, but neither Neji nor Kankuro showed any signs of slowing down. Finally the tide of skeletons began to abate, and at last there were no more.

Neji gasped and leaned over, his hands on his knees. Now that the skeletons were nothing but a pile of bones Neji could allow himself to feel the exhaustion. The rain was still pouring down, and now that the adrenalin was starting to wear off Neji started to shiver and tremble with cold.

Kankuro was snarling, the fur on his back and shoulders was standing up on end. He sidled up to Neji, still snarling and fidgeting.

Neji straightened up. He could not see or sense anything wrong, but it was clear to him that Kankuro's wolf instincts had somehow alerted him to the danger here. Neji had been a fool not to trust him, and Neji was not too proud to admit this. If Kankuro was still upset that meant that the danger was not over.

The bones scattered about the ground began to rattle and shake. Neji could see that every single one of them was trembling. All at once the bones rose into the air and began to fly at Kankuro and Neji with deadly precision.

Neji now exhausted and on his last legs, spun once more, deflecting the bones away from him. However, he had been going for hours, and he was tired, cold, and still not fully recovered from the chakra exhaustion that he had suffered from on the way here. Neji's spin began to slow down and finally it stopped. Neji was just too tired to go on. But unfortunately the bones were not done yet. A huge rib bone hurtled towards him and struck Neji on the shoulder. The bone was enough to drop Neji to the ground.

Blearily Neji lifted his head as the bones floated in the air above him, poised to strike. He tried to get up, to fight, but his body refused to obey him.

_No, no! I'm not going to die here! Not on this rock!_ Neji tried to force his now rock heavy limbs to move. Twitching and jerking, he managed to get his arms underneath him and lift his torso, but that was all he could manage. Vaguely he realized the rib bone was wiggling in his bleeding wound, as if it was still trying to cause damage. It was succeeding as well. Neji's shoulder felt like it was on fire.

Neji heard Kankuro let out a savage roar, and the huge werewolf was suddly there, right above him. Kankuro stood over him like a protective bear, his claws and teeth lashing at the skeleton bones as they flew towards him. Even with his blurry vision Neji could see some of the bones making it through and cutting into Kankuro's fur.

_Even after all I said, he still defends me? Why?_ If it were Rock Lee Neji would understand. Lee was a forgiving, kind person. But Kankuro? Why?

The rain started to let up, and through the thinning clouds Neji could see little slivers of daylight on the horizon. He sighed. The moment that the sun went down Kankuro would become human again, and while Neji was confidant Kankuro would not give up, Neji was sure they would not last much longer.

The first rays of the sun finally broke through the storm clouds and all once all the bones fell to the ground. The one in Neji's shoulder gave one last final jerk, and then lay still. Neji watched at the fur receded from Kankuro's form, and in a few moments Kankuro was back to being human. Kankuro did not even look at Neji, instead he began to prod and poke at the bones laying all around them. It was as if he was trying to get them to do something else. But the bones just lay on the dirt, as if they had never moved at all.

AN: Happy Halloween folks.


	50. Chapter 50

An Author's Note: As of this writing, I have no clue if the anime or the manga has actually told us what in the world is in that bag thing Neji is hauling around at the start of Shippuden. I think you all know where I am going with this.

Chapter 50

Hiding from the Dead

Kankuro poked at one of the bones, a large femur, with puzzlement. He knew that this thing had been moving around just last night. He was getting better at remembering what happened during his transformations, though the memories were still rather hazy. Kankuro picked up the bone and studied it. It looked like a regular old bone to him. It was old and browned, but otherwise looked like a perfectly normal bone. How had it flown last night?

Kankuro sighed. He knew he was only staring at the bone because he didn't really want to face Neji right now. But, he was stuck on the island with the annoying little prick, and he didn't have any way to change that, no matter how much he wished he was with anyone else. It wasn't just the man's words last night, it was that…order. The moment that Neji had ordered Kankuro to sit, as if he was some sort of nin dog, Kankuro had wanted to punch him. But, for some reason the moment that Neji touched that rune Kankuro had felt an odd jolt in his head, and just as it had been last time with the other werewolf Kankuro had found himself obeying.

Kankuro turned and stared at Neji's fallen form. It looked this entire incident had taken a toll on Neji, and Kankuro would bet good money that Neji was unconscious. A horrible thought occurred to Kankuro. He knew that this could never be allowed. He had, foolishly, put his trust in Neji, and the man had turned on him! He had used that rune and forced Kankuro to follow his orders. What the Leaf decided to keep the thing? Kankuro would basically be beholden to the Leaf. He had always been taught that a good Sand ninja could never be loyal to any place but the Sand. It was his duty to protect his people, but now he was turning out to be a threat! Kankuro knew that most of his family, Gaara and Temari to be precise, never thought of the day when the Leaf would go to war with them. Kankuro knew that would happen one of these days. And, if it ever happened in his lifetime and Neji still had that rune…

As he approached Neji Kankuro was determined. He knew what he had to do. The Leaf ninja had to go, now. If he didn't get rid of Neji now then it would be a disaster. Kankuro was convinced of it.

That rib bone was pretty close to Neji's throat. Very close, very convenient in fact.

Kankuro couldn't figure out why his hand was shaking so much. It was not like he had never killed a meddlesome Leaf ninja before. It was something his father had-

_Wait, am I really going to do this? It's just what he would want me to do. So why?_ Kankuro pulled his hand back from the rib embedded in Neji's shoulder. _I don't have to do this, not yet. We haven't even found what Cassie set us out to find! Maybe there is a way to get rid of this damn bond that forming between me and Hyuga here. Maybe this isn't necessary, not yet. And besides, I kind of like him…wait, when did that happen? When did I start seeing this idiot as a friend and not just another Leaf? Gah, why does our family always seem to make friends with damn Leafs? First Gaara gets buddy buddy with Lee and Naruto and then Temari starts a thing with Ratface, and now I'm starting to befriend a stuck up, prissy little Hyuga brat? I hate my family._

With a resigned sigh Kankuro formed his chakra strings and brought the Crow over from where it had been placed yesterday. The Crow was not just a weapon, but also could be used as a kind of storage space. It had more hidden compartments on its fragile looking frame, and not all of those compartments held poison and blades. Kankuro fiddled around with the small door in the Crow's chest, and brought out some bandages.

"You owe me again, Hyuga." Kankuro said. "I'm keeping score, you little Leaf brat."

Kankuro gently extracted the bone from Neji's shoulder. By now the Hyuga was pretty much unconscious. Even so Neji did twitch as the rib came out. As soon as the bone was out Kankuro threw the thing as far away as he could. Swiftly Kankuro wrapped up Neji's injured and bleeding shoulder. He was no medical ninja, but he did know some basic first aid.

"Now what?" Kankuro muttered. He had no idea how they were going to survive another night. He struggled to remember the events of last night. How and why did the skeletons come? All Kankuro could remember was sitting in the rain, and then scenting the skeletons. He had growled and…it wasn't a bark but it was similar. He didn't know how Neji had not heard it. Maybe it was because Neji had bad hearing when compared to a wolf…and it had been raining last night. Had Kankuro's noises attracted the dead? Maybe. Maybe if they just huddled in the shelter the bones would not come after them. Kankuro didn't think that the bones would remember, after all they were just bones!

At that point Kankuro noticed that Neji was kind of shivering and shuddering. All at once Neji gave out a series of hacking coughs. The Hyuga instinctively curled in on himself, trying to get warm. Kankuro had not quite realized how wet it was, and that while he had been protected by his thick furry coat, Neji had no such protection.

Actually, it was rather amazing, what Neji had done. He had fought in the rain for almost the entire night (Kankuro was not sure exactly when he had scented the skeletons), in the cold and the wet, all right after a bought of chakra exhaustion. Kankuro remembered how long it took Gaara to fully recover from this, and Neji was no Gaara! Kankuro wondered what in the world they put in the water in Konoha, and how could he get some for his village?

Kankuro dragged Neji back to the shelter. He wished he had some blankets or something, but all of their belongings were back on that blasted ship. Unless…

Hoping that his hunch was right, Kankuro dug out that weird bag that Neji carried around with him. Maybe the Hyuga had something useful in there? After checking and disarming a little spring loaded sebon trap, Kankuro opened the bag. To his immense relief and amusement, Kankuro actually found some rather useful things. A few scrolls that, under some scrutiny, turned out to be simple summons for spare food, blankets, a tent and spare kunai, sebon and throwing stars. In fact, Kankuro could not help but wonder if that weapon master Tenten might have stored some of her stuff in this bag.

Good thing that Neji had bled a bunch. Kankuro pulled out a summon scroll that, according to the script, held a blanket, and summoned it. Kankuro sealed the bag back up, not bothering to reset the trap, and rolled Neji into the blanket. The Leaf was shuddering and trembling, and Kankuro really really hoped that he was not getting a cold.

After that, Kankuro retrieved some more wood and built the fire back up, guessing that the warmer he could keep Neji the less he would have to worry about the man dying of hypothermia.

Swiftly, Kankuro got to work patching up the hole in the shelter, and then he used the Crow to gather up some leaves and dirt. He had the Crow cover the planks with the dirt and leaves, hoping for camouflage. He didn't know if the skeletons could see or sniff or whatever, but he had to do something. He knew that he and Neji were not going to survive another night like last night. Their only hope was the vague notion that the skeletons would not attack them if they did not know where they were.

While the Crow spread the foliage over the planks, he had the Cockroach make more planks and made a door for the shelter, and covered that with mud and leaves as well. Hopefully the skeletons would not find them again.

After some thought Kankuro dug out the various weapon scrolls from Neji's bag and lined the shelter with several traps, just in case his guess was wrong. Around noon a wild pig wandered into the clearing, and was quickly dispatched by the Cockroach's scythes. Kankuro roasted the animal. He tried to wake Neji, but the guy was out like a light. Kankuro did not know how long he could keep the meat.

"I'll never tease Temari about home economics jutsu again." Kankuro muttered. He knew there was a way to keep meat fresh on a mission, and that Temari knew it, but he had always dismissed the talent. He just knew that if Temari ever knew of that then she would laugh at him. If he ever saw Temari again.

Kankuro shook his head to get that thought out of his head. Of course he would see Temari again! She was probably just fine. He…he hadn't hurt that badly. She would have recovered by now, and was probably raging at him right at this moment! Of course she was!

Getting a genius idea, Kankuro stored a bit of the meat in the Crow, hoping that he could wake Neji before it spoiled. Moving at top ninja speed Kankuro went to the other side of the island. Kankuro had some ninja wire with him, and he took the remaining chunks of boar meat and strung them up in the trees. He spaced the chucks apart and put them in varying heights. Maybe the skeletons would be attracted to the meat?

By the time Kankuro had gotten back to the shelter it was at least an hour past noon. He knew that he would have to get some rest. Even though the odd spell of the werewolf refreshed him, Kankuro wanted to be prepared for tonight. If the worst happened he would be alone. He didn't think Neji would be up to helping him.

Kankuro crawled back into the shelter and stuffed his puppets in as well. Kankuro checked Neji's forehead. He sighed, it was warm. Kankuro was pretty sure that was a bad sign. However, the Leaf didn't look as uncomfortable as he had been. He wasn't shivering anymore, and he looked pretty dry.

Deciding there was nothing else he could do, Kankuro lay down on the ground and went to sleep. He hoped that by the time night fell Neji would be awake. If not.

_I'll run. Distract them. If they are chasing me. I hope I can keep it together!_

With that Kankuro forced himself to go to sleep.

* * *

Neji opened his eyes, and to his surprise he wasn't on the island with Kankuro and a bunch of evil floating bones. Instead, he was back in Suna in what he now recognized as the Kazekage's dwelling. He looked up and saw the last person he wanted to see. The Fourth Kazekage.

"Oh God, I'm in hell." Neji muttered.

The room they were in appeared to be some sort of library or home office, a bit like the room that Neji's own uncle lurked in. Neji had a bizarre feeling of déjà vu. He could remember several instances where Hiashi had held a kind of court in a library/office in the Hyuga compound, very much like this room. Only now instead of a nerve racked Hinata or an irritated younger him, in this room was a rather shamefaced little Kankuro. The only thing missing was the desk. Instead of the desk Kankuro's father appeared to prefer a simple chair. The chair, however was not in use. Instead, the Fourth was simply standing in the middle of the room, looming over his son.

To Neji's horror the Fourth drew his sword. For a horrible moment Neji thought that the Fourth was going to attack Kankuro. Neji would not have put it past the man. However, that moment passed when the Fourth instead kneeled down on the floor to get down to Kankuro's level, the sword laying flat in his hands.

Neji examined the sword. It appeared to be a large broad scimitar with a simple steel hilt and a large sharp stone on the pummel. The blade had an eagle imprinted on its surface.

"Kankuro, I know that you don't mean to be disloyal." The Fourth said, sounding slightly more rational then he did the last time Neji saw him. "I have to remind you who you are. Do you remember this sword's name?"

"Shaemeial." Kankuro said.

"Yes. This sword has been passed down from father to son for centuries. Before the Shinobi nations there was the tribes, and before them, the One Empire. Our ancestor, leader of the Eagle Guard, forged this blade in those days, and ever since then our family has carried it. This is the sword that cut the demon chains and freed the Dragon and allowed it to save the last people of the Empire from destruction. This blade was used by the first Huur of the Eagles, after the Empire's fall, to slay the invaders from what is now the Earth nation, and stopped them from invading any farther than the mountains. I myself used this sword to against the Leaf and the Stone in the war, as well as the battle with the giant sand worm matron before it could spawn. Do you understand, Kankuro?"

"Yes, it's important. I know that." Kankuro said. "I know that you want me to have it, eventually."

"You are the oldest son. I would give it to Temari, but you know how she is." The Fourth shrugged. "She has no love for our traditions. Her mother was the same. I can't fault her for disliking them. They aren't good to women, and Temari is a strong girl. She has no need for such nonsense. But you, at least, are mindful of the old ways. However, this is doesn't mean that you can fraternize with puppeteers! A traitor to the Sand shouldn't wield this blade!"

"But-"

"Kankuro, you realize to become a puppeteer you must swear loyalty not only to the Sand, but to them as well? Long ago I thought that it was alright, but Sasori taught me that a puppeteer's loyalty is only to himself, not to us."

"They can't all be like that." Kankuro said quietly.

"I can't be sure of that." The Fourth said. "Don't you understand, I want to keep you away from their poison? That is why I am sending you away."

"Away?" Kankuro's said with a clear edge of panic.

"I've asked my little brother, Jhimey, to look after you for a while. You'll live with the Swooping Eagles. Hopefully when you come back you will have learned loyalty to your people. Besides, we can't have another incident like yesterday, now can we? Honestly boy, what is with you and the drapes in the council chamber?" Kankuro struggled not to grin at the Fourth's words. After a few seconds the man continued. "It won't be forever, and I still expect you to be a ninja."

"Oh…okay." Neji could tell that Kankuro was troubled by all of this.

"Just remember, Kankuro. I would much rather you live as warrior then as a puppeteer. If you do come back, don't come to be a puppeteer." The Fourth said.

_But Kankuro is a puppeteer._ Neji thought. _How did that happen? Did the Fourth change his mind?_ Neji didn't think the Fourth had. He seemed very stubborn to Neji. How did Kankuro become a puppeteer then? Neji had a suspicion that he would not like the answer.

* * *

"I won't go easy on you."

"I do not expect you to."

Kankuro watched as the littler version of Neji faced off with the even smaller (and less green) version of Rock Lee. Rock Lee had what Kankuro could only think of as the Rock Lee Look, a particular bullheaded expression that Kankuro mostly attributed to the stubborn ninja. Usually the look was a precursor to mighty pummeling the likes of which could even send Gaara running. Kankuro was watching a taijutsu course at the Konoha academy; once again taijutsu was something that Baki had taught him and Temari when they were five. Okay, Temari was five; he was four…maybe that was why he tried to avoid it? To him taijutsu equaled his sister beating the snot out of him. And Temari could and would kick your snot out of you, even if you happened to be four.

Kankuro shook his head, now was not the time to ponder possible childhood trauma. Neji was already rushing at Lee. Kankuro's eyes narrowed as Neji struck Lee twice in rapid succession, once in the left shoulder and once in the gut. Lee squeaked and doubled over, allowing Neji to flip Lee over onto his back. Kankuro would have pretty much chalked Lee as beat, but Neji was not done. Neji started to use those odd rapid pokes of his on Lee, even though the boy was already down and out. Kankuro could see the look of frustration and anger on Neji's face, a look that up till now Kankuro only attributed to the faces Neji made to his cousin Hinata.

"Hmp, and they call me a bully." Kankuro muttered.

"Hey, lay off!" A girl said from the other end of the line. She jumped over and shoved Neji away. "He's down you creep!"

It was like flipping on a light switch. All of a sudden the open anger on Neji's face was gone, replaced by that cold haughty Hyuga look. Kankuro was sure that the entire freaking family used it as their default mask expression.

"Oh, I am just fine!" To Kankuro's amusement Rock Lee jumped up with a grin. "Let us try it again!"

"No need." Neji scoffed. "You obviously have no talent for this. You will never be good at taijutsu. You should just give it up now."

"Hey, he's just learning!" The girl objected.

Neji shrugged. "If he wasn't born with the innate talent he will never be good enough. That's just fate. It's not something he can help."

Rock Lee looked mildly crushed by this. The girl interjected again.

"That's not true at all! If all that matters to a ninja is innate talent then they wouldn't send us to the Academy in the first place!" She said.

"They only send us here as a formality. There's nothing here that can be learned. It's just to keep the paperwork flowing. That's what my entire family says."

The girl snorted. "Yeah, just keep telling yourself that."

Neji snorted and walked away, still acting haughty and stuck up.

"Creep." The girl said. "You okay?" She turned to Lee.

"Of course! I know I am not good, but I can learn! My name is Lee, what is yours?"

"I'm Tenten." The girl said.

Kankuro laughed a bit. "Wonderful way to meet your future teammates, Hyuga. I'm glad I was born Sand!" After all, he would never have gotten along with Temari if they had met like this!

* * *

Kankuro awoke to the feeling of unease he had felt last night. He groaned and kept his eyes and ears pricked. If the skeletons tried to come in he would be ready for them…

But, deep inside, he felt the urge to run out into the night. That wasn't good. If he did he would leave Neji exposed. He didn't want to do that. A horrible, and ironic, thought occurred to him. If Neji were awake he could use the rune to command him to settle down. It was hilarious. Just last night he had resented Neji and wanted him to die; now he felt like he needed the shrimp! Perfect.

"Hey, Hyuga, wake up! Wake up!" Kankuro said, his voice already starting to deepen. To his relief Neji moaned and started to stir.

"Uhwwa?" Neji said, his eyes still mostly closed.

"Wake up!"

"What's wrong?" Neji mumbled."

"You have to use that rune thing."

"Huhhh, what?" Neji shook his head. "Are you insane?"

"Look, just do it! Tell me not to make a noise and not to go out! Do it now or we are both dead!"

"Huh?"

"Are you not a morning person?" Kankuro muttered.

"No, no I'm not." Neji said.

"Well good, it's only sunset. Now give me the orders or you're gonna have to drag your lazy carcass in gear and fight skeletons again!"

"Okay, okay." Neji said. He found the rune and held it "Kankuro, when you're a werewolf tonight don't move from this shelter, don't make a single noise and don't run out and play with the skeletons." With that Neji curled right back up and moaned a bit. He felt lousy and his head hurt. In fact he felt like he was going to throw up.

"Gee thanks you snot nosed, big headed, stuck up little Hyrrgggggggggggggggggggg." Kankuro's insults were rudely interrupted when he sprouted a muzzle.

Neji watched as the transformation finished. At this point he was not even shocked by it. He had seen it so many times it was no longer as painful to watch. Even the snapping bone noises had ceased to bother Neji as much.

It was about now that Neji figured out what Kankuro had wanted. The skeletons. Kankuro was trying to hide from them. Neji could only hope that the man had prepared to tonight. He was certain that he had been all but useless. It made him feel horrible, but there was nothing he could do.

Neji could hear a horrible rustling and scraping. Quietly he activated his Byakugan. Sure enough the bones were trying to reattach themselves. Thankfully they didn't seem to know where each one needed to go, so it took them several hours to get back together. After that the skeletons, now somewhat mixed and matched, began to stamp about outside, clanking and scraping together as they walked.

Neji was still somewhat useless. He felt horribly weak and sick, and about midnight he started to cough. However, this time the skeletons took no notice of them, and simply wandered about the island, patrolling it like a horrible night guard. Through it all Kankuro lay down on the shelter floor, lips lifted over his jagged sharp teeth. But the werewolf made no sound, nor did he make any move to attack his undead foes.

Still, neither the sick ninja nor the irritable werewolf got any sleep that night.


	51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

The Tutor

Rock Lee felt immensely uncomfortable right now. Instead of taking him back to the factory, which Lee had half expected him to, Moreel had instead taken Lee to a courthouse. Lee's heart had sunk. This might be a prelude to a potential hanging, or whatever Smokes did to execute people. He would have to fight his way out. This was not something that Lee wanted to do as this might possibly alert the Smokes to ninja in their midst. It might put Temari and Shikamaru in danger.

Lee made note of the various alleys and streets and roofs that he might use in case of an escape. He could see high, but large glass windows on the courthouse. Massive things that looked more decorative then functional. He knew that he could easily leap up and smash through them, as long as this court was held near them. From there he could vault onto the roofs and flee. He would go east, back to the desert, and see if he could rendezvous with the ninja forces.

Moreel looked at Lee, and noticed that the young man's eyes were darting around. It had been a long time since Moreel had seen that particular action, but he remembered what it meant.

"Don't be scared, no one is going to hurt you." Moreel said.

"Will they not?" Lee said. "Can you be sure of that?"

"Of course, why would they?" Moreel said.

Lee looked at him "Your army murdered ninja of the Sand right in front of me. I saw them. The Leaf and the Sand are allies. It is not out of the realm of imagination that your kind will want to kill me. I am a Leaf villager."

"They were only supposed to kill ninja, and you're not one. Right?" Moreel said.

Lee tensed. "A proper ninja uses ninjutsu in battle" Lee parroted one of the favorite barbs aimed at him all those years ago at the Academy "I cannot use ninjutsu." _I am a taijutsu master, a genius of hard work. I doubt you would understand._ "I have never been able to use ninjutsu. I suppose I know the reason for that now." Lee said. He was not bitter. Though Moreel would never know how much he had gone through to be a ninja, telling him this would be detrimental. Lee hated being a liar, hated not telling these people exactly who and what they were dealing with. However, though it had taken him a long time to figure it out, Lee had learned that sometimes the straightforward way was not the best way. He remembered that long ago mission to the Star village, and his behavior there. He did not like sneaking around now any better than he had then. However, thanks to a lot of effort on both Neji and Tenten's part, he had managed to learn the necessity. He wished for the two of them now. They were better at this.

Moreel shook his head. "You belong here, with us. Just give me a chance, please." _If only I had gotten to that shop faster! That woman would have never taken you away, and my daughter might still be alive_! Moreel couldn't help but feel a great deal of hate for Tsunade, the meddlesome barbarian who had stolen his children. He had conveniently forgotten that it had been his own foreman who had dismissed Audalia in the first place, and caused the disaster that had resulted in her abandonment and death. It had been a misunderstanding on Jera's part, and Moreel had forgiven him, though it had taken a while.

Lee was about to question the very idea that he belonged anyway but his home, which was in the Leaf village, when a voice that suspiciously sounded like Tenten's spoke up in his head _"Lee you idiot! This is a golden opportunity to get close to them! Don't botch it up!"_ Then Neji's voice spoke up in Lee's mind _"Indeed, use your brain."_ Lee mentally agreed. Even though thinking of what his teammates would say was not as good as them actually being there, it did help.

"What are we doing here, sir?" Lee asked.

Moreel winched. He wished that Lee would call him "Dad", or at the very least "Father". He also wished that he would respond to Mory, his real name. However, the boy would only respond to Lee. It hurt Moreel a lot, but he tried not to show it. In way, he deserved it. If only he could go back and change things!

"We are going to make you a citizen of the Empire. I don't want my only son to be a slave, much less mine. You deserve to have the life that was taken from you by that woman."

"You mean Lady Tsunade?" Lee bristled. "Sir, I will not listen to such talk! If it were not for Lady Tsunade I would not be here right now. She saved my life. In fact if what Miss Kala said is true then I owe her my life twice! If you should blame anyone then blame that man I kicked! If he had done as he was asked then my sister would not be dead, and Lady Tsunade would not have had to take me."

Moreel sighed "Let's not fight about this in the street, shall we?"

Lee shrugged.

Moreel sighed to himself. He wished he understood this boy! He was so strange to Moreel. Lee was so different then what Moreel had been like when he was that age. It must have been a side effect from living in a village of barbarians. Or maybe it was because Moreel hadn't been there for Lee when he was growing up. After all Lee was practically an adult now.

Moreel led Lee into the building. Lee looked around. It looked like a normal building to him. The room they were in now was simple and square, with hard wooden floors that shone in the light. There was a reception desk in the front, and to the sides were two different passageways. In the middle of the room was a collection of hard looking seats. It did not smell like the factory or the hospital, but it was very silent and solemn. Lee saw something black bellowing towards him in the corner of his eye, and he turned to his head to look. A man in strange looking black robes was walking towards them, papers in his hand. What made Lee almost lose it, however, was the odd looking white powdered wig on his head, sitting there. Lee almost choked on the spot. It looked so ridiculous!

"Are you okay?" Moreel noticed Lee covering his mouth with his hand and choking.

"Those robes and that wig. It is so ridiculous."

"That's a lawyer." Moreel hissed.

"You are joking! Why is he dressed like a fool?"

"You should talk. You're wearing a green thing." Moreel hissed back.

Lee resisted the urge to give Moreel a Guy lecture on the virtues of such an outfit. Instead he changed the subject. "What now?"

Moreel went over to the reception area and smiled at the women there. "Hello, I'm here to get this boy freed and approved as a citizen."

"How long have you had this slave?" The woman did not look up from the papers she was scribbling on.

"About four weeks." Moreel said.

That stopped the pen "Four _weeks_?"

"He is my son." Moreel said.

The woman stared at Lee, who gave her his signature grin and thumbs up. She blinked. "Is he simple?" She asked.

Moreel looked over at Lee and nearly slammed his palm on his forehead. He didn't, but he wanted to "What are you doing? Stop that." He hissed.

Lee gave Moreel a puzzled look, and then stopped. Moreel was unaware of how lucky he was. Lee had considered giving a speech about youthfulness, but he didn't. This place almost felt like a shrine, and after being kicked repeatedly by Neji and Tenten after what happened at the last shrine he was in, Lee was not eager to do it again.

Moreel sighed. Maybe he shouldn't have been so hasty to do this. Somehow he managed to get past the woman and her pen without any more incidents.

Then there was the waiting. They had to wait on those hard wooden seats for what felt to Lee like an eternity. He just hated to wait! It was almost as bad as the lever! He wished he could exercise here.

Finally, one of the robed wigged ones called Moreel's name, and the two of them followed the man through one of the hallways. After taking several left turns they arrived at a pair of large double doors. The two of them were ushered in. Lee had never seen a Leaf courtroom; he had never had the reason to. However, he didn't think it would be like this. The place was dominated by more of those hard benches. At the front was an upraised wooden box. To the sides of the box were two more odd upraised wooden boxes, one of which was longer than the other. In fact it was more like a small section of arena seating, or at least that is what it remained Lee of.

The wigged guy led them to the box on the side, the one that did not look like arena seating. Lee found that the box had its own uncomfortable bench inside, as well as stairs leading up to the bench. Lee and Moreel sat down.

Within a few moments a pair of armored guards came in and flanked the box in the very front of the room. A pair of the wigged lawyers came in as well, and they stood at the very first benches in the front of the room. A few seconds later a man came in. He was dressed like the lawyers, but his robes were red. He was followed by another man who was carrying a stack of papers.

"Arise." One of the guards bellowed. Lee and Moreel obeyed, Moreel with a grim look on his face. Lee just looked mildly puzzled. This was an odd ritual. Did they do this at a proper Fire court?

Moreel, on the other hand, was starting to panic. Of all the judges in the world, he had to get _him_! This was not looking good.

"The case of Moreel Tumas, Owner of Tumas Steel and…" the man with the papers stared at the name on the document he was holding "Rock Lee?" The man's eyebrows shot up in puzzlement. The two lawyers stared at each other on the corners of their eyes. Stumbling a little bit the man continued. "Application for the release and subsequent citizen ship of the individual know as Rock Lee. Lord Judge Aurmos presiding." The man coughed a bit at Lee's name again. Lee didn't know what the big deal was. He also couldn't help but wonder if these people always tied citizenship to freeing their slaves. It was a scary thought.

The judge sat down, and the rest of the court sat as well. Lee wondered how long this would take. He was getting bored again. There was only so long you could be amused by silly wigs.

The lawyer on the left spoke up. "Mr. Tumas, according to this." He held up a paper "You have only had this slave for four weeks! Hardly enough time to judge his character!"

Moreel stood up "This is true, but there are extenuating circumstances. This boy is my son, and I will not have my child a slave. As a native of this land he should be taught our ways and brought back to his home."

Lee resisted the urge to shout at them all. The Leaf village was his home!

"_You can do more free then you can as a slave, Lee think for a moment_!" Lee imagined what Neji would say. _"A little self control, Lee!"_

"Where were you raised, and how did he become a slave in the first place?" The other lawyer asked as he looked at Lee.

"He was bought at the-"

"I was addressing the child, not you." The lawyer glared at Moreel. "Or does he just communicate with barbarian grunting?"

Moreel swallowed. This could end up being a disaster. Lee stood up, trying to think of how Neji would have handled this.

"I was raised in the Leaf village of the Land of Fire. I was visiting friends in the Land of Wind's Sand village when it was attacked. I was captured there." Lee said, sticking to the facts. He tried to imitate Neji's calm, rational way of speaking. They couldn't know how much he did not like them and their strange society! "They took me here, and some time later Mr. Tumas bought me. We only recently discovered threat I am his son."

The lawyer blinked. "Do you have any proof of this, Tumas. How can you be sure?"

"He has something that once belonged to my wife." Moreel looked up at the judge. "Don't you remember it? You are the one who approved our civil union."

The judge blinked "I have performed many civil unions, but I do remember you, Tumas. I remember how you ruined her."

Moreel stiffened. "Regardless of what you think of me, we were in love. And this is our son."

"We need more proof then the word of a factory owner and a barbarian." The lawyer on the right said.

Lee decided that he had enough of this. "I have proof. May I show it to you?" Lee asked the judge.

The man gave him an evil glare. "Come forward." He said.

Rock Lee jumped from the box to the ground, electing several shocked looks and one quiet groan. Lee took off his shoe, which earned him a few more shocked looks and the sound of a head hitting wood. Lee ignored all of this as he fished out his ring.

"Why do you have a ring in your shoe?" The judge asked with disgust.

"I used to have it on a chain around my neck, but my friend Neji Hyuga would try to garrote me with it wh-when he was angry." Lee said.

The judge stared at him. "You call a person who tried to strangle you a friend?"

"He was a bully when he was younger, but he is better now. He is a great friend." Lee said.

"Is he an idiot?" The lawyer on the left whispered to the one on the right.

Lee ignored this just as easily as he had ignored the previous stuff, and took the ring to the judge. The judge looked at the ring and blinked. "This is the Fantuen family ring! How did you get it?"

"I was raised in an orphanage in the Leaf village. They told me that when I was brought there I had this with me."

"He could have found that ring, or stolen it!" One of the lawyers said.

The judge was now staring at Lee, really staring at him. "He greatly resembles Audalia Fantuen." The judge admitted. "However, four weeks is hardly enough time to judge his character. He might be one of us in blood, but where does his loyalties lie?"

Rock Lee took this as a question "My loyalty lies with my family."

Moreel felt a surge of hope, thinking that Lee meant him. He did not know that Lee thought of Guy as his father, and Neji and Tenten as siblings. And Lee was not going to point that out, not right now.

"Perhaps." The judge gave Lee a considering look. "Still, I doubt he could pass the test to become a citizen. How much does he know of us?"

Lee shrugged. "I know little of this place. But if you give me time I can learn anything."

The judge laughed a bit "You think so?"

"Of course, I can learn anything!" Lee said, a bit of his usual eagerness creeping into his voice.

"Since you seem to be under the impression that four weeks is enough time to judge one's character, Tumas, I will give you four weeks to teach this boy. If he does not pass the test, however…" the judge glared at Moreel a bit, then bashed a hammer on his desk, much to Lee's surprise.

Moreel grabbed at Lee and led him out of there as fast as he could. As far as Moreel was concerned it had not gone well.

Lee looked over at Moreel as soon as they were out of the building "What test is this?"

"It is a test to prove that you know enough about the Empire to be a citizen of it." Moreel said. "I thought that, perhaps, since you're my son they would skip it."

Lee shrugged. "Never mind. I can learn anything!"

"There is a lot to know, and you only have four weeks!" Moreel groaned.

Lee jumped in eagerness "I will pass this test with plenty of time to spare! There is nothing that hard work and youthful energy cannot overcome! If I do not pass I shall run the circumference of this city five hundred times!"

Moreel stared at Lee in surprise "Where are you getting all of this?"

"Guy-sensei!" Rock Lee said with another eager jump.

_Whoever this Guysensei is, he must be some sort of freak!_ Moreel thought. He wasn't confidant at all. There was no way!

Unless…

* * *

As Moreel approached the smallish house, he wondered how he was going to be received, probably by getting a smack across the jaw. He knew that the old man hated him. Still, he could think of nothing else to do.

Nervously Moreel knocked on the door. An irritated voice grumbled "coming" from within the building. The door opened about two inches, but as soon as the occupant saw who it was the door was slammed back in Moreel's face. He winched, though he expected that.

"Mr. Billis, please open the door." Moreel said.

"Go away, I don't want to see anyone. Especially not you, Totus."

Moreel sighed. At least Billis was not pretending his was deaf again.

"I need to tell you something!"

"I have absolutely no interest in listening to your prattle! I trusted you with that girl, and look what you have done!"

"I found our son, Billis. Hers and mine. He's in my house at this very moment!"

With a slow creak the door opened again, and Moreel found himself looking into the cold black eyes of a rather irritated looking older gentleman. He had a cane; but he was by no means stooped or feeble looking. He had a rather long nose and his hair had long since turned silver. He was a bit shorter then Moreel, though he had a presence, a commanding one that forced most to pay attention to him when he spoke.

"Have you now?" Billis hummed to himself, a small short sound of puzzlement, or perhaps amusement.

"Yes, he's been raised by barbarians, and I only found out yesterday, but I'm convinced it is him. But, I have a problem…" Moreel outlined the basic issues. Billis said nothing. He just stared at Moreel with a hand covering his mouth and chin. Occasionally Billis' long fingers would tap gently, and he seemed deep in thought.

After Moreel was done Billis laughed gently "So, you think you can hire an old tutor, a retired one I might add, to teach an almost fully grown young man what most must learn from childhood in four weeks? I thought I was supposed to be the senile one!"

Moreel sighed. "I can't think of anyone else who would do better! Most will just laugh me off their property! Not one of them will want to teach a-a barbarian. You, at least, will see this boy for who he is! Please."

Billis stared at Moreel, and then closed the door in his face again.

Moreel sighed and turned to leave. But as soon as he got a few meters from the step the door opened again to reveal Billis pulling on a coat and placing a hat on his head.

"Well, come then Tomer. Let's go."

"It's Tumas."

"Of course, dear boy, of course." Billis replied with a dismissive flick of his hand.

Moreel sighed. He wondered if he had made a mistake.

* * *

Rock Lee was staring at the paper in front of him in total confusion. It was not bad enough that he was trying to learn a totally new language from scratch, but what made it worse was that it was totally different from nice normal shinobi writing. It looked completely different. What was worse was that it was read from the wrong direction, left to right instead of right to left. And, worse of all, it was written horizontally, not vertically.

Lee was completely lost. And he was just starting on the first letter of the alphabet.

"Mor-Lee, do you need anything?"

Lee looked up from the evil letters in front of him and grinned at Kala. Both Lee and Moreel were pretty much convinced that her father would not accept her back after her actions at the park. So Moreel had come up with a solution. He needed a new maid in his house anyway, as an older one had retired, so he hired Kala with some urging from Lee. Moreel was not to sure of the girl, but Lee was very instant. After all, in Lee's mind it had been his fault that the girl no longer had a home.

"No, I am fine. Thank you for asking." Lee went back to staring at the paper, trying to decifer it.

After a few minutes he could sense footsteps on the landing. Moreel had stuck Lee in his own private library; a place that reminded Lee of the Hyuga household, despite the fact the furniture was far more ornate then even that great clan's furnishings. Lee was sitting in a rather plush chair, at a large desk, staring at the puzzling alphabet of the Smoke. Lee couldn't figure out if this was more or less boring then the lever.

Lee preteened to be deep in thought, but he was studing the door. The footsteps were coming closer. He was still not quite comfortable with this place, and half expected an attack at any moment.

However, if this was a prelude to an attack then it would be the oddest one ever. The man who followed Moreel into the room was very old, and while he did have a very regal, in Lee's mind almost a Hyugaish aura, he didn't look like a fighter.

Lee looked up and smiled at Moreel. "Hello sir, who is this?"

Moreel gulped. "Lee, this is Termius Billis. He tutored your mother when she was a child. I was hoping that he could help you wit-"

Before Moreel could finish the sentence Lee had bounded over the desk and was leaping at Billis. "Oh, you know my mother? How wonderful! And you will help train me?" Lee was practically jumping with glee. He loved training even better when there was someone to instruct him.

Billis only blinked at Lee "Well, you are very excitable, aren't you boy?"

"That is the power of youth, Sensei!" Lee said with another leap.

"He keeps saying that." Moreel said in a disgruntled tone.

Billis was waving his head again. "I see. Go away, Tauras. I need to talk to him alone."

"But-"

"Shoo." Billis said with finality.

Moreel sighed and left the room. He hoped he had not made a huge mistake.


	52. Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Falling Rain

A few hours after the ninja army had left Konoha, Tsunade had sent Jiraiya out on yet another fact finding mission. Originally she would have sent him to investigate the Akatsuki activities in the Land of Rain. However, now there was another factor, the werewolves. Ever since they had arrived there had been silence from the Akatsuki, and no information from the Land of Rain. You would have thought that there would have been some activity, especially considering that several of the evil organization had been killed, the most recent being Hidan and Kakuzu. However, there had been nothing. Plus, more often than not, the werewolves were often seen escaping across the Rain border. This meant that either they were operating in the Land of Rain or somewhere beyond it. With that in mind Jiraiya had gone to the Land of Rain, but not to seek out the Akatsuki, but to discover the truth behind the werewolf threat.

So that is how Jiraiya found himself deep in the Land of Rain. His transparency jutsu, normally used for his all important research, was now being used to sulk at inns and street corners, listening for information. From this Jiraiya had managed to actually gather some interesting intelligence. Apparently the Land of Rain had been entrenched in a civil war for years, a war that had managed to be concealed from the rest of the world. Apparently the faction led by a "Pain", one that was associated with the Akatsuki, had been winning, until the werewolves appeared.

However, it was not until the third day of inn skulking that Jiraiya found a big lead.

"I'm telling you!" Jiraiya eyed the young ninja setting not five feet from him. The kid had no clue he was being watched. "The werewolves deliver of their promises! They said they could turn a ninja into one of them, and they did."

"Yeah, but I don't see em bringing one back." One of the older ninja, whom the younger one had been talking to, grumbled.

"Pah, he was just a sand nin, what use would he be to us?" The younger one said. "That's not the point! The point is that their power works. I've been across the border, and I heard it from sand villagers themselves! Think of what we could do, if their powers were ours. We can finally take our country back from Pain!"

The two older ones grumbled, but they were starting to look slightly convinced.

"I've seen what they can do as well." One of the older men, the one that hadn't objected, said thoughtfully. "It's horrible. They ripped an entire patrol of Pain's followers apart! None of the beasts were even scratched by their jutsus. These things aren't people, they're monsters!"

"Pain is a monster as well. Don't you think we need more monsters to fight a monster?" The younger ninja said. "Just come listen to their leader. She's brilliant. You'll see if you come!"

The men grumbled some more, but in the end they both nodded.

Jiraiya listened as the younger ninja gave the two older ones a date, time and village. Apparently the werewolf leader would be giving a speech there.

Interesting. Jiraiya had to be there to see this.

* * *

Jiraiya, still using his transparency jutsu, had found his way to the appointed village, and just in time as well. He had timed it to make sure he would be there about five minutes before the werewolf leader was supposed to arrive. He was not going to be early, because the chances of his being discovered increased the more he stayed in one place. He was going to get in, listen to the wolf, and get out. Easy. Right.

He sought out a good hiding spot underneath an abandoned stall. The village itself was a rather run down place. In fact, Jiraiya would be surprised if the place was actually habited. The place had been ravaged in the civil war. No crops grew on the outskirts, save for weeds. The buildings were falling apart and crumbling. The only place that seemed habited was the square, which was now cautiously being filled.

Ninja, never a trusting people, were even less trusting when their homeland was tearing itself apart at the seams. The ninja coming to hear the werewolf weren't walking in. They would slink, much like Jiraiya himself. Most of them circled the place and cautiously walked to the square, keyed up and alert for danger. Jiraiya would have easily bet that some of them "ninja" were probably water clones sent to listen and learn from their summoners. Still others had chosen to send in summoned animals in there stead. Nin dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and amphibians jumped and hopped around, just as edgy as the ninja. In fact, even if someone was perceptive enough to detect Jiraiya, they probably would assume that he was just another Rain ninja trying to be inconspicuous.

Then, the howling started. All of the ninja in the village square jerked their eyes towards the sound. Some of them looked as if they wanted to run, but no one moved. Jiraiya also looked in the direction of the howls.

_Hmm, guess they don't want to spook em anymore then they are already spooked. Not sure if howling is the way to do that_. Jiraiya thought.

Jiraiya half expected the werewolves to come running in on all fours, probably slavering and drooling as they went. However, to his shock when they appeared they looked, almost normal. They walked on two legs, like humans, and they were moving slowly and carefully. There was no shyness or edginess, however, in their gait. They strode in like a proper army, two by two, moving in an orderly fashion. Where it not for the wolf heads and furry coats, they would have been humans. They didn't seem to wear clothes that much, save for what was needed to cover the essentials, but then again they were furry. Maybe clothes were uncomfortable against fur? Their colors ranged from brown to black to white; in fact they were colored pretty much how you would expect a wolf to be colored. Behind the line of orderly wolves were three other wolves. The first one Jiraiya noticed was a golden furred beast with long fangs that jutted out of its mouth like daggers, and long claws that looked more like they belonged to bear than a wolf. Flanking the golden one were two others, the only ones with anything to resemble elaborate clothing. The first, a pale grey wolf, wore what looked like a cloak fashioned from the skin of a deer, complete with the skinned head and antlers perched atop the wolf's head. The other, which had a deep red hue, had a normal looking hooded blue cloak, but attached to his side was a lyre, a detail that almost sent Jiraiya into a fit of laughter. A wolf with a taste in music?

The ninja parted from the wolves, all of them looked suspicious and edgy, like they expected the wolves to attack. However, all that the wolves did was to reach the center of the square. One there they fanned out in a circle. Soon there was a circle of wolves standing in the middle of the square.

When it reached the pack the golden one turned to the ninja, and spoke. "Ninja of the Rain, I know you fear. I ask that you have patience with me. I would like for you all to see me, and for that I need to call upon the powers of my people. Please, don't fear." The wolf's voice was distinctly female, and for once Jiraiya didn't feel the need to peek at her. Maybe it was because of the fur. He was not turned on by animals. Only human women for him!

The golden one nodded at the wolf in the deer hat. The deer hat wolf shoved his way into the circle of wolves. For a moment he just stood there with his eyes closed, and then all of a sudden he brought his hands forward and thrust them into the air. The ground split and tangled roots emerged from the ground. Twisting and knotting, the roots formed a vague platform.

Whispers erupted from the gathered Rain ninja.

"What is that?"

"Roots."

"And earth jutsu?"

"Can't be, I couldn't sense any chakra! Could you?"

"Not a thing."

As if to answer these whispers the deer wolf leaped onto the root platform and spoke. "Behold my power. My blessings come not from my own body, but from the Earth itself. I am a Runemaster, a student of the Great Tree that nourishes the world and blesses the land. It is not my power, but the power of the Tree."

More mutterings from the Rain ninja.

"Enough, Runemaster. We are not here to speak of spiritual matters." The golden she wolf leaped onto the root platform. "Rain ninja, thank you for coming here this day. You live in a time of horrors, and I am grateful that you have chosen to me this day. I am Cragga, leader of the werewolves you see here. What you hear today will define your lives forever. Will you continue to live as you have, like rats hiding from a fat contented cat, or will you rise up and prove yourselves as true men? I am an outsider to this place, and as an outsider, let me tell you what I see. I see a land, once great and powerful, reduced to a state of decay. I see a people, good once, now slinking in the shadows like subhuman worms. Look at yourselves!" Cragga bellowed. "Look, and see yourselves as others see you! Amongst the ninja lands who is said to be the strongest? Is it the Rain? No, it is the others! Sand and Leaf! The Rain is a laughingstock! What, I ask, makes them better then you?"

Angry mutters erupted from the crowd.

"Look at this place! Wasn't this very village a prosperous one, years ago? Can you imagine it? The green crops? The bright and clear water? The homes filled with happy families? What is there now? Mud! Is there no one here who can remember it?"

More muttering.

"And who, I ask you, is responsible for this? Who has made the Rain a joke? Who has destroyed your homes? Who killed your rightful leader?"

To Jiraiya's amusement and horror, the same young ninja who had been in the inn recruiting jumped up and hollered "Pain!" In his loudest voice.

The cry was taken up by other ninja in the crowd, some of them might have been ligament, but Jiraiya had a feeling that this was staged.

"Indeed!" Cragga bellowed "Pain is to blame! Pain the murder! Pain the tyrant! Pain, whose rule is marked by his own name! A dictator who allies himself with renegades and murderers! Is this the leader the Rain needs?"

Cries of no erupted, and Jiraiya was now convinced that most of the voices were stages. In addition, what was with the music loving wolf, and why was it gently strumming that lyre?

"But how can you fight Pain? All that set themselves against them have died, have they not?" Cragga said, in a sad tone.

One of the ninja spoke up "Haven't your kind been killing ninja left and right?"

Cragga laughed. "We have killed Pain's men, your enemies. We have killed Sand and Leaf, who are no friends of yours. What have they done to stop Pain? In fact, I have learned that Pain was trained by Leaf ninja!" Cragga grinned as cries of horror and outrage sprang up among the Rain ninja.

"But, how can you kill so many, without a scratch?" Another ninja spoke up.

Cragga smiled "My people are meant to fight magic. It is what we were made for. Even if it is the magic that comes from within, or the magic from without, we werewolves can stand whatever magic used against us. Even if the magic is called jutsu."

"Then you can destroy the Akatsuki!"

"They can kill Pain!"

"Wait, then what do you need from us? You must want something!"

"My people have no home. We need a home. If, we were to take care of Pain of you, would there not be…a vacuum. After all, there are so many dead Rain ninja. Even if you were to get rid of Pain, what happens when the Leaf and the Sand move against you? After all, how will the Leaf react when their figurehead is dead?"

The Rain ninja began to scream. Cries went up to Cragga, begging her to help them, to defeat Pain, to stay, and to keep them safe from the imagined Leaf threat. Jiraiya felt sick to his stomach.

Cragga's grin was positively feral. "Of course! If you need us so much, and we need you, why shouldn't we help you? I promise you, Rain ninja; once I am done with him Pain shall be nothing more than a pile of wet bones! None shall attack this place, not while I am here!

Jiraiya began to move. He had to get out of there and warn Tsunade of this. At least now they had a face and name for their lupine enemy.

On the root platform the Runemaster's ears pricked "Cragga," He muttered in his true language. "That spy I scented is leaving. Should I-"

"I told you, what he hears today is of no consequence." Cragga replied in their tongue. "But at least go and find out where he is from. Confront him."

The Runemaster nodded. Folding his arms he seemed to sink into the roots.

* * *

Jiraiya was about five miles away and heading towards the Land of Fire, jumping from tree to tree, when he noticed something darting at him from the corner of his eye. He turned in midair and ducked, and a large grey blur shot past him, missing his head by a good ten inches.

Jiraiya landed on a tree branch and focused on his attacker. It was the grey wolf with the deer hat, the one that called itself a Runemaster.

Jiraiya had no clue how the creature had managed to follow him without jutsu, in fact it was odd that the creature could use any type of, what had they called it, magic, at all. He had just heard their leader say they were resistant to it, but if that were so then how did this thing summon roots out of the ground, and somehow follow him all the way here?

Maybe he should perform a few tests before he left?

Jiraiya struck a pose and declared "Foolish puppy! How dare you strike at the great Toad Sage!" As Jiraiya went into his act the wolf pricked his ears forwards, but otherwise did nothing.

Jiraiya petered out, and was trying to think up something else to declare at the wolf, when it finally spoke. "Are you finished?"

Jiraiya screamed "How dare you interrupt me!"

"Oh, sorry, thought you were done." The wolf sat down on the branch he was on, ears still forwards and attentive.

Jiraiya, pleased that he finally had found a captive audience, just about ran through every single impressive and outlandish claim he think of.

About five minutes later Jiraiya had run out of things to say. As his finale he struck his last pose and declared "At least you are somewhat wise. Wise enough to recognize true genius when you see it!" Jiraiya said with a proud tone.

The wolf stood up "Old one, don't mistake my natural respect for my elders for personal respect towards you. Half of what you say makes no sense to me, nor do I practically care. Are we going to fight now, or do you have anything else to say?"

Jiraiya grinned, time for the test! He leaped for the wolf and blew a few flame bullets at the beast. The Runemaster growled and raised his paws and then quickly closed them into fists. To Jiraiya's irritation the constant rain in the air started to swirl at high speeds around the wolf. By the time Jiraiya's fireballs reached him the wolf was incased in a water barrier. The fireballs struck it and dissipated.

Jiraiya landed behind the werewolf, who whirled around to face him. The wolf made a sweeping gesture with his arm, and to Jiraiya's shock the branch he was standing on wiggled. Jiraiya looked down as the branches wrapped themselves around his ankles. Jiraiya looked up as the werewolf gathered odd energy in its hand, not the familiar blue chakra, but a strange black void filled with little points of light, like the night sky. The werewolf grinned and launched it at Jiraiya.

The werewolf yipped in surprise when the void energy struck Jiraiya, and instead of doing whatever it was supposed to do the shadow clone disappeared in a puff of smoke. The werewolf sniffed deeply and looked up. At first he only saw more rain, but his nose told him a different story. He leaped forwards just in time to avoid the spikes of white hair raining down where he used to be.

"I never thought that their magic would be so versatile." The Runemaster commented to himself.

"Oh, does that mean yours is not?" Jiraiya seemed to appear right beside him, utterly flabbergasting the werewolf. Jiraiya's hair lengthened and he swung it at the werewolf. To the werewolf's embarrassment and shock it actually hurt! It was like being smacked by the wrong end of a porcupine. He had just been beaten by someone's bad hairstyle!

The Runemaster flew back, and Jiraiya thought that he was going to smack right into a nearby tree trunk. However, a black aura surrounded the beast, and in an instant the Runemaster was translucent. He went through the tree truck like a ghost and landed on the other side. Once he was there he became tangible again.

"Interesting stuff, this chakra." The Runemaster commented calmly. "Trying to use your own power in place of Aether?"

"Aether?" Jiraiya asked.

"This." The Runemaster grinned and formed another void energy in his hand.

Jiraiya grinned and began to form a Rasengan "You've shown me yours; now take a look at mine!"

The Runemaster chuckled. "You really think that the feeble energy in your old body is a match for a piece of the very universe?"

Jiraiya grinned and drew his arm back, as if to throw the Rasengan. The Runemaster was faster and launched his Aether energy at Jiraiya. He expected the two energies to collide, but to the Runemaster's shock Jiraiya, with Rasengan still in hand, leapt over the Aether and shot towards him. This time the Runemaster couldn't dodge, and the Rasengan connected with his chest. This time the Runemaster did end up slamming into a tree and falling to the ground.

"You know, pup, if you don't know how to use your power what is the point of having it?" Jiraiya chuckled as walked over to the fallen wolf. He noted the spiral shaped cuts on the wolf's chest, not as deep as it would have been under normal circumstances, but hardly the same kind of total chakra resistance as demonstrated by Kankuro.

The werewolf grinned at him "You think I am powerful? You should see a human Runemaster."

"Now, why don't we take a little trip to the Leaf village, I got a nice ANBU cell with your name on it."

The Runemaster grinned "Think I will pass on that, old man." The fallen werewolf placed his hands on the ground, and roots shot out, enveloping him. Within seconds the Runemaster had sunken into the ground, and vanished.

For a moment Jiraiya looked at the place where the wolf had vanished. "Well," He finally said "There's a few questions answered."

With that, Jiraiya turned and headed back to the Leaf village. Even without brining a prisoner he had a lot to tell Tsunade.


	53. Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Temple of Spiders

Shino had always thought that waking up to Akamaru's cold little nose was the worst kind of wake up call. Now, as he drifted back into the world of the conscious, he found a different kind of nose sniffing round his ear, a nose that was even less welcome then a dog's. As he opened his eyes and turned his head he stared into the beady little gaze of a bat, a familiar bat.

"Lucky." He grumbled. The little bat squeaked and sniffed with his leaf shaped nose. Shino could feel his bugs burrowed deep inside his body in an effort to stay away from the winged pest. In fact, unless Shino was mistaken, a few of the bugs might have even been tickling his innards. Shino hadn't had the best night last night. In fact, he doubted any of the ninja had. The Iifernati had a tendency to be loud late at night. They seemed to be throwing an impromptu party, judging from the joyful shouting and singing that had gone on until midnight last night. To ninja, used to the sounds of silence in the forest, especially on a mission, it was irksome. None one had known what, if anything, the Iifernati had been celebrating, but it was irritating to listen to them. However, now there were more pressing issues on Shino's mind, like that bat.

Swiftly Shino snagged the bat and pinned its wings to its side. The bat squeaked out a protest, but Shino ignored it. Irritated and grouchy, Shino clambered his way out of his sleeping bag and wiggled out of the tent, careful not to squash the pest. He didn't like bats, but he knew that to injure the thing might annoy its master, and while Shino found his bats distasteful, Shino had no real issue with Zirru, other than the bat thing.

Bat in hand, Shino set off to find the bat user and give him his little friend back. After a while he managed to convince his bugs to come out and search out Gaara. Gaara was more familiar to him then Zirru, and his bugs would find them faster. As one of his insets cautiously poked their antenna out of his sleeve, Lucky squeaked in delight and tried to snap at Shino's friends, but Shino had a tight grip on the thing. The bug in question cringed, but did as it was told.

A few minutes later the bug was back, followed by Gaara himself.

"How did you know?" Shino asked.

"Most bugs don't dive bomb my face." Gaara said mildly "And there are no other ninja I know with us that use kikai insects." Gaara stared at the bat held in Shino's hand "Why are you squeezing Lucky?"

The insect flitted over to Shino and crawled into the sleeve that did not have a bat near it. Shino helpfully held out his arm to ensure that the bug was as far away from the bat as was possible. The little bat's ears drooped a little as the meal left.

"It was in my tent this morning, trying to get to my bugs." Shino said.

"I see."

"I need to find its owner."

"No need, I can take Lucky. He knows me." Gaara walked over and took the bat from Shino's grip. The bat chirped happily as soon as Gaara touched it and crawled along Gaara's arm to arrive on his head. Shino found the thing's way of locomotion, using its odd little thumbe to crawl up Gaara's sleeve, extremely goofy. The sight of Gaara essentially wearing a bat for a hat was rather amusing, but only the upraised eyebrow and slight smirk was any evidence to Shino's amusement. It was rather comical to see a little hairy ball stretched out on the head of the Kazekage.

"Its presence doesn't bother you?" Shino asked. Gaara had never seemed like the kind of person to accept touching from others, even small mammals.

"No. I've run missions with Zirru and Apototius before, I've gotten used to Lucky. He likes to perch on people's heads."

Actually, that was not all of it. Aside from his family and Naruto, the bat was the first living thing to accept Gaara as he was. Kankuro had been responsible for it, in part. Once Gaara had told his brother of his new dream Kankuro had been silent for a few days. Then, he and Baki had arranged for Gaara to run a few missions with Zirru and Apototius, who had been working as a two man squad since Maira had been injured. Back then the majority of the Sand ninja still avoided Gaara out of fear, but the three of them had been stuck with each other for about two weeks. Apototius had been confrontational and aggressive, much like Kankuro had been towards Gaara when they were younger, and Zirru had been afraid to even look at Gaara. However, on the third night Lucky had decided to crawl up to Gaara. Gaara, with great effort, had managed to keep his sand from crushing the poor thing. Zirru had been visibly frantic, afraid for his little friend, but Gaara had made sure it was safe. By the end of the night Lucky had ended up on Gaara's head, perched like a little hat, and Gaara had successfully reined in his sand. After the mission was over Zirru and Apototius trusted Gaara, and Gaara now knew that he could have friends, like Naruto. Whenever he was with Zirru and Apototius as a team Lucky would end up on his head. At first it was practice to Gaara, but now it was merely habit.

"It is not like you have never seen something like this. Kiba kept Akamaru on his head."

Shino nodded "Akamaru is Kiba's though. I have never had the dog on my head."

Gaara shrugged. "I should go. We will be moving soon or at least my team will. I will see you and the others at the next rendezvous point."

Shino nodded politely as Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand, bat and all.

Was it just him, or did Gaara seem a bit off during that discussion? There was something odd in the man's gaze, as if he was trying to size Shino up. That was odd. As far as Shino was concerned he had no grudge against the Kazekage. The only possible bone of contention with them would have been Kankuro's disrespect of Shino back at the exams, and Shino had long ago decided to forgive the Sand nin his disrespect. The man had saved Kiba's life, and that made up for the insult. But now, if Shino was reading Gaara right (and Gaara was hard enough to read) then Gaara was not acting normally.

Perhaps Naruto would know? Naruto, as a fellow jinchuriki, (actually in Gaara's case it would be former jinchuriki, but to Shino it still counted) then Naruto might know what went on in Gaara's head. Shino, though a firm believer in personal privacy, couldn't help but feel unsettled but this and he wanted to know more. There was something wrong here, he could smell it.

But now was not the time for this. Soon the others would be awake; in fact he could sense them stirring right now. There would be enough time for a quick breakfast, and then they would on their way. And soon enough there would be a battle. Shino could feel it.

* * *

The next passed like the first. The two armies moved in almost the exact same way, until they finally hit the border and entered the desert proper. Now the movement of the army changed a bit. The Iifernati and the Sand ninja moved more swiftly in the open desert, while the Leaf ninja found themselves almost struggling. Their normal method of travel, jumping from tree to tree, didn't work as well. Also, much to the Leaf nins irritation, the Iifernati didn't seem to be tired, despite the amount of noise last night.

Regardless they once again arrived at their destination. Most of the Leaf ninja had only ever gone to the Sand village and back. In fact it had been one of the few places that foreign ninja could go, but now that the village had been taken over, and they couldn't go there.

From the border they had gone directly south, instead of southwest to the Sand village. The southern portion of Suna was different then the more familiar northern part. Soon the sandy dunes began to flatten, and instead the Leaf ninja found themselves in a different kind of desert. There was no more sand, or at least not as much sand. The place instead had high mesas and deep canyons.

"Umm, is this the place?" Naruto peered into the small hole at the base of one of the mesas. They had been given the instructions to meet here from Gaara himself.

"Seems so." Sai said as he studied the entrance. "It looks man made."

Naruto nodded in agreement. Even though he was no longer sure of Sai's loyalties, he was determined to do as Gaara had suggested and wait and see what would happen. Naruto kind of wished Kakashi was here, but their jonin leader had gone to "scout". More than likely Kakashi had only wanted to delay his arrival at the rendezvous point. He had to keep his record of lateness, right?

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Naruto grinned and leaped into the entrance, followed by a deeply sighing Sakura and Sai.

As they entered they found a long spiraling stairway literally carved into the interior of the mesa leading upwards to the top. There were small, almost minuscule holes in the rock wall, letting in enough light to the see the stairwell. Along the sides of the man made tunnel were several carved murals, which Naruto happily ignored.

"Look, this is odd." Sai said, with only a mild indication of interest in his tone. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

"Eh, what?" Naruto, who had gone on ahead, turned around to look at what Sai was studying. "Aw, it's just a carving in the rock!"

"Look at it." Even Naruto could detect the smile edge of excitement in their teammate's voice. "This vehicle looks like a cart, but it's shaped oddly, for one person. These are Iifernati horses pulling it, but they these odd feathers on their heads. And look at the lion they are charging at, it looks different then any other drawn or carved lion I have seen. It's too blocky."

"Huh," Naruto squinted at the offending lion "It looks more like a lion then yours do."

"That is because my style is traditional. This, this is different."

Naruto studied the scene again, it depicted a man in a strange one person cart, pulled by an Iifernati horse with odd plumage on its head, charging with an upraised spear at a rearing lion, a lion that did indeed look different then Sai's drawings. In fact, all the art on the walls looked off, like they were from a different time and place.

"It's odd, it's not from any Shinobi nation." Sai said.

"Yeah, it is kind of weird." Sakura agreed.

"Hmmp." Naruto grumped. "Well, if you guys want to look at the walls all day, that's fine, I'm going up." Naruto turned and started back up the stairs. After a few moments his teammates followed him.

_I'll have to come back here later, make a few sketches of these._ Sai thought, still glancing at the odd artwork. _They look very old._

Team Seven reached the top, to be greeted by on odd sight. The place was dominated by the ruins of some old building, a building made of the same reddish tan rocks that surrounded them. Most of the building's former walls were knocked down, and stones lay scattered across the ground. Two odd statues, one with no head and the other with only the feet left, flanked a hole that might have once been an entrance. Sitting around the temple were the rest other ninja army, the Iifernati were nowhere in sight.

"Hey, what is this place?" Naruto bellowed.

"It's an temple, or it was." Gaara said as he approached them.

"Huh, for the Sand?" Naruto asked.

"No." Gaara shook his head. "You might call it Iifernati, but that's not accurate either."

"Are the Iifernati in there, then?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, and they have been for several hours." Gaara shrugged. "They are doing, something."

Naruto grinned. He knew, could tell, that Gaara was uncomfortable with his new family. To Naruto, however, family was a sacred, precious thing. He had never experienced blood relations with anyone before, but he felt it must be vital. After all, that is what drove Sasuke away in the first place. Gaara, unlike Naruto, had family, and to Naruto the distance between Gaara and his family was unacceptable, but the miles they were from Temari and Kankuro and the emotional whatever-it-was between Gaara and the tribe. So, Naruto did the most natural thing in the world to him; he butted in.

"Let's go take a look!" Before Sakura could hit him or something, Naruto grabbed Gaara by the arm and dragged him to the entrance of the collapsed temple. He also ignored Gaara's muttered grunt of protest and Sakura's equally protesting, but much higher pitched, shriek.

Naruto leaped into the temple, dragging Gaara with him. As his feet landed he looked up, and almost choked on a gasp of horror.

He almost didn't see the crowded Iifernati bowing and chanting and apparently burning grains and fish and corn on a small altar in the very front of the room. He ignored the mess of the place, the ancient dust, the fallen and broken stones, and the half destroyed statues. He was totally focused on the one statue that was not broken, the one standing object in the place. It was the statue of woman, that was pretty clear from the get go, at least from the shoulders down it was a woman. What caught your eye, was that from the shoulders up, instead of head, was a huge spider. Eight stones replaced the thing's eyes, a ruby, a sapphire, an emerald, a diamond, and four normal rocks, each painted a corresponding color to each precious stone. Together they formed a circle, with the gems on the top and the normal rocks at the bottom. Each of the spider's legs had a human hand at the end, the front two held in front, as if warning the people around it to stop. The rest pointed in various directions of the compass. Held in the things open, tooth filled maw was the small figure of human screaming in pain.

"Gaara," a soft voice called to them, and Baki split from his fellow Swooping Eagles and walked over to them. He came and stood by the gapping Naruto and the equally incredulous Gaara. "This really is not the way I wanted you to meet Arrackno-taa."

"What is that?" Naruto said, perhaps a bit to loudly.

Baki's eyes narrowed "Shut up, fool, and listen. You will learn much better if you shut it."

Gaara's eyes narrowed and he folded his arms over his chest. "Baki, answer the question."

Baki shook his head. "Do you remember what this means?" Baki backed p a few steps, then he started to step forward to too heel, almost as if he was going to tiptoe towards them, but his foot stopped inches from hitting the ground. Then Baki raised his left hand, as if telling them to halt, and then he pointed his right hand to the ground.

Naruto was about to bellow again, but Gaara placed a hand on the Leaf ninja's shoulder. Gaara closed his eyes "Temari said it means 'Look down, Idiot'. I think she was being sarcastic. Kankuro said something else, something to the effect of 'Look to the earth for, for something."

Baki nodded "You are close enough." Naruto didn't notice that the Sand jonin's eyes darted to him. "And this?" Baki seemed to almost switch positions. Instead of his right foot now his left foot hovered above the air, his right hand was raised. But, instead of pointed to the ground again, this time his left hand was pointed to the sky.

Naruto guessed "Doesn't mean, 'Look up, idiot', does it?"

Baki shrugged, and then stood normally "close enough. Now, look at the statue, what do you see?"

"Big freaky spider head." Naruto said.

Baki sighed "How does Kakashi put up with you, again? Gaara?"

Gaara glared at the statue, as if forcing it to give up its terrible secretes. Then, he grunted "It has our symbol on its stomach."

Naruto looked, and sure enough the hourglass symbol of the sand was etched on the statue's stomach.

Naruto looked closer, and he actually managed to spot something as well "Hey, it's holding its hands like you were, only doing both at the same time, kinda."

Gaara noticed it as well, just as the two foremost spider legs was held in front, as if to ward someone off, the normal human hands of the human body were pointed up and down, performing both at the same time.

"What do you deduce, Gaara?" Baki asked.

Gaara thought while Naruto fidgeted. "That thing has our symbol, so it must have something to do with us, but I have never heard of anything like this."

Baki sighed, he had hoped that Gaara would figure it out, but then Gaara never had much interest in their history. When he was little he had been mostly unteachable, and later he had never paid that much attention to history after he had calmed down. He had been too busy trying to make himself more human to pay that much attention to the past. Now, however, Baki had a problem. How to tell Gaara about this, without telling to much to Naruto? On the other hand, Naruto was an idiot…

"Gaara, before the sand was the Sand, before the Shinobi were Shinobi, there was an Empire in Suna, not the Smoke's, but our Empire, the Empire of our forefathers. This Empire spanned this region from the ocean to the mountains, extending almost as far as the Land of Lightning. This empire had many gods, and this is Arrackno-taa, one of them. Once, long ago, she was the god of pestilence, plague, death and misfortune. Yet, she was worshiped, and those who worshiped her were shunned. Yet, they believed that she must be worshiped, because pain is a part of life, and to ignore it was to ignore a valuable part of life. But," this part was going to be difficult. "Something, something bad, whipped out the empire and most of our forefathers with it. This thing was eventually stopped by the worshipers of Arrackno-taa, but at the cost of literally all of her disciples. Our people survived, but the empire was dead, and its people could no longer live as they had. They divided into trips, the tribes you see now. Yet, they never forgot the sacrifice of the disciples of the spider, and when the time came for the shinobi to rise, they picked her symbol as their own, in honor of her."

"That's where those carvings in the outside stair are from," Gaara said "From that old Empire, right?"

Baki nodded "This correct."

"Hey, what's he doing here? He can't be here!"

Baki turned and sighed gently. Out of the all the things to do, this was the dumbest thing that Reem could do and say!

"Reem, leave it." Baki ordered.

Reem looked at Naruto then glared at Baki "He's a demon vessel; he doesn't belong in a sacred place like this!"

Naruto and Gaara instinctively tensed. "You can't talk to him like that." Gaara growled "He's my friend, and you aren't going to insult my friends like this. We've both had enough of such talk."

Reem looked a little surprised "It's nothing against him personally; he just can't in a place like this. He has the spider goddess's ancient foe inside of him, and she might be angry."

Gaara glared at Reem. "It seems that I was wrong. I thought that perhaps I might indeed find family amongst you, but if you cannot accept Naruto then you can't accept me either."

"Reem, what is going on?" Jhimey walked up.

"Your tribesman has made it clear enough, _uncle_." Gaara glowered at Jhimey "It seems that your tribe can't tolerate the presence of one of my kind." With that Gaara turned and strode off, with Naruto right beside him.

Jhimey stared at where Gaara had been, and then rounded on Reem "What the hell did you say to him?"

"Huur, that boy is a demon. He might have angered the goddess! How do you think the war will go if the goddess of misfortune is angered?"

"It is far to late for that, Reem." Nori came up to the group, shaking his head in displeasure "The goddess is already angry at us."


	54. Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Setting up the Ambush

"So, do you always sulk like this?"

Gaara, who had indeed been sulking a bit after the incident in the temple, turned a cold gaze on Katsu. He decided not to answer her, and looked away from her. The Iifernati had been in that temple for a few more hours, and the ninja had gotten busy during that time, or at least some of them had. Gaara had sent a few scouts out to find the Smoke army that was supposed to be heading for Kairuio, their capital. They were going to intercept them and ambush them, before they could even think of reaching it. While Gaara might not get along with the Daimyo he did realize that taking over both the military base of the Sand and its political capital would be a disaster.

Katsu was one of the last people that Gaara wanted to talk with right then, preceded by Jhimey. Gaara wasn't in the mood.

Katsu, however, didn't seem to be leaving. She sighed a bit. "You're being a little brat, you know that?"

Gaara turned to her "A brat? Do you know how much Naruto and I went through when we were young?"

"Yes, I do. I also realize that Naruto has made a better showing of it then you did." Katsu pointed out. "It's not entirely your fault, but if you are going to go off and cry every time that someone raises an objection about you then that makes you a brat."

Gaara bristled "Naruto had people to support him, I never did."

"If you ever stopped to think a moment then you would have seen otherwise. Naruto is not the only person who ever cared for you. Or are Temari, Kankuro and Baki nobody to you? Or the Sand ninja that believe in you are they nothing as well?"

"Naruto is the only person who could possibly understa-"

"No." Katsu interjected. "You take things to hard. You let the things people say and do hurt you to deeply. One person betrays you and you go on an elaborate extended temper tantrum. Then when someone else shows you a bit of humanity you cling to him like a burr. Gaara you may be a good leader, but you need to keep things in perspective. Reem didn't mean to hurt either or you."

"Do you understand what it's like to be rejected for something you can't help?"

"It's not a rejection. Reem wasn't upset because it was Naruto; he was upset because of the demon. None of us see them as the same. If it were anyone else with a demon they still would have objected. The thing that destroyed the Empire, the thing that the spider followers sacrificed themselves for was the Ten tailed beast, the beast that your friend holds a piece of."

"I don't like it." Gaara said flatly.

"You know what, Temari never liked our traditions, and Kankuro never liked your attitude when you were younger. I don't like some things my husband and son do. I don't like your disposition. Families will always annoy you, sometimes in little ways and sometimes in small ways. That doesn't mean you give up on them."

Gaara sighed "I understand. I'm not trying to hurt Jhimey, but don't wish to be around your tribe, at least not right now."

"Fine, but let me say this, kid. Jhimey may act tough, but he can be slightly sensitive when it comes to his family. If you even think about hurting him then I am going to rearrange your face." Katsu stated.

Gaara blinked at her "Does your side of the family always threaten people when you get upset?"

Katsu grinned "In case you haven't notice, most of us have pretty volatile tempers, even you."

Gaara thought back to his siblings. They both did have tempers. In fact, aside from a certain other uncle, Gaara himself was the only one who didn't show a great deal of emotion. That didn't mean he never got angry, he just held it in while the rest of his family displayed it out in the open. He wondered if this was because of Shukaku.

But he could sort of see where the tribe was coming from. He didn't believe in their gods, but he knew that he couldn't trample on the beliefs of others no matter how stupid they were. They weren't actually hurting anybody, and their beliefs worked for them, so who was Gaara to judge?

Katsu was also right. He was being a little too sensitive, especially since Naruto himself had brushed off Reem's attitude, as if did not matter, and had gone on to mess around.

"I suppose I'm being to sensitive." Gaara finally admitted.

Katsu grinned "Glad you can admit that, Squirt."

Gaara gave her an even look "Squirt?"

"Hey, Kankuro and Temari have their nicknames, why not you?"

"You're not calling me that." Gaara said.

"Yes I am."

Gaara sighed. He had feeling this was a fight that he wasn't going to win.

* * *

Hiashi wondered how in the world the Iifernati thought they were going to fight when they kept making that blasted racket all night. While the ninja were doing the smart thing and getting some rest, the Iifernati were again making noise. It was ever more infuriating when you couldn't understand the lyrics to their damn music. Didn't they understand that there might be a battle any day now? What kind of idiot threw parties right before battles? It was incredibly annoying, especially when poor little ninja were trying to get their beauty sleep.

Feeling a prickle of annoyance, Hiashi activated his Byakugan, wondering precisely what they were doing over there. All he could see over in the Iifernati section, which was once again in the center of a ring of annoyed ninja camps, was a mass of whirling, spinning, twitching bodies as the moronic Iifernati danced along with their music. Funny thing about Iifernati dancing was that they all seemed to have absolutely no concept of personal space. Every single one of them seemed to be unnaturally close to the other. Hiashi's binocular vision landed on his distant relatives, Katsu, Jhimey and Maro, he almost winced to see Katsu being unnaturally close to her son. It was not like Hiashi was unfamiliar with the concept of dancing with one's offspring, but this seemed different then a polite whirl around the ballroom. To a person raised in a strict political setting it bordered on almost wrong.

Not that Hiashi had ever danced with his own offspring, not even in a more polite setting. In fact, especially now, Hinata seemed to avoid him at all costs. That prick of annoyance was getting stronger the more Hiashi looked at the bizarre family in front of him. These people seemed to so close, but even when he tried Hiashi didn't seem any closer to his daughter. Unless he was mistaken the distance between him and his daughter was just as far and wide as ever before.

Now completely annoyed, Hiashi decided that he was not going to get any sleep tonight. He slowly got out of the tent his "team" had set up and went to get a breath of fresh air. He deactivated the Byakugan and started to stare up at the sky. It was rather impressive up there. He had never really taken the time to look at it when he was at home. Something about the desert just made the sky more impressive, and the night was even more so.

He was so distracted that he at first didn't feel the presence when it arrived, but in the end he did sense her. He looked over at Tsume and grumbled "Are you following me?"

Tsume glared at him "Never, I just can't sleep with the damn racket the Iifernati are making. I was just taking a walk. I would never seek you out."

"And yet you keep turning up."

"Screw you."

"Are you that desperate?" Why was his mouth saying these things? He didn't want to fight with Tsume, but his mouth kept saying things!

"I'm not the one following his daughter around like a wounded puppy begging for forgiveness." Tsume snarled.

"But I'm not the one acting like the wounded party, when you're the one who walked away."

"I was _driven_ away! And you never even lifted a finger to help or uttered a word of protest!" Tsume said.

"I didn't know you were so scared of little old ladies." Hiashi said mildly.

Tsume was snarling again, it was amazing how that affected Hiashi. Once that would have-no! He stopped those thoughts right there. Tsume wanted to kill him, not do anything else with him, regreatable as that thought was. Once that look on Tsume's face would have been very very different, but now all that Hiashi could detect was anger and disgust. He had tried to talk to her over the years, but she never seemed to respond. He had no idea what he had done to make his team so angry. To Hiashi it was strangly sudden. One day he, Tsume and his brother had all been friends, then the next Hizashi hated him, and Tsume would have nothing more to do with Hiashi.

Hiashi shook his head "Look at us, it's like those years never happened. I never figured out why you and Hizashi started to hate me. What did I do to make you so mad at me? You stayed away from me for almost twenty years, and I never knew why."

Tsume shook her head "You're a blind fool. I never thought I would say that to you, but it's true. If you can't figure it out then there is no point in talking with you."

"Wait, I-"

"Hiashi, it's too late. It's probably been too late for a while now." There was no more anger in Tsume's voice, now she just sounded depressed. She walked away from Hiashi with a sad shake of her head.

"But, why." Hiashi said "Why is it too late?" But she didn't even turn around to look at him.

* * *

Eventually the Iifernati had settled down, and the ninja got to sleep the rest of the night. The next morning Gaara awoke to find that one of the scouts he sent out had arrived, and he had some good news. The scout had found the slow moving Smoke army, and they were indeed heading for the capitol of the Land of the Wind. They were going to be passing near the temple, only a few miles to the southeast.

"We are in a perfect position." Gaara said. He had decided to grab the jonin leaders of the various ninja teams, as well as Jhimey and Iren. They were all there, save for Kakashi, who was late. "They will pass through a rather narrow canyon not far from here by tomorrow, if they keep up this speed. Plenty of time to set up an ambush, and they might not be able to use their superior numbers and firepower if they are boxed in."

"You ninja can cling to walls, right?" Iren was giving the map spread out on a handy rock a considering look. Gaara nodded. "Here's what I think, we can have one tribe's warriors at one end of the canyon, the other at the opposite end. Once we have boxed in the Smoke the ninja can attack from above. It's not like we can get our horses down the sides of that thing anyway."

"How are we going to get them to that particular canyon, anyway? Or will any canyon do?" Kakashi seemed to appear from nowhere.

Gaara gave him a cold look "Where were you?"

"Hmm? Oh, a small family of squirrels needed my help. I had to stop." Kakashi said.

"Impressive, seeing as how there are no squirrels in this area." Jhimey said mildly.

Gaara decided to move on and ignore the squirrels. "This canyon is ideal for other reasons. If I recall there are several underground tunnels. One of the groups can hide in these tunnels until the right time. They could also be used as an escape route if things don't go well."

"Where did these tunnels come from?" Hiashi asked suspiciously.

"Same place this temple did." Baki said.

"How would the warriors know when to come out?" Iren said. "Those tunnels are pitch black.

"You, Hyuga." Jhimey looked at Hiashi, who stiffened a bit. "You can see pretty much everything with those eyes, including things through walls and rocks, right?" Hiashi just nodded. "There's an old tower not far from the canyon, at one time it was used to watch that particular pass. It's about as old as that temple over there. You can't use it to watch the pass now, because the top collapsed and there are no more windows. But, with someone who can see through the wall then that won't be an issue. If you were to be a lookout for us on that tower you can signal us when the Smoke are in the right place."

"We are going to need to make sure that the Smoke goes through this path. They might decide to go a different direction?" Gaara said.

Iren grinned "Send of your ninja with us Dragons. We can herd em right to you. If we can do it with a bunch of cattle then we can do it with Smoke. At the pass we'll lure them in and attack them from the front while the Eagles come up in from behind."

"You sure about that, I mean, cattle can be pretty smart." Jhimey said. This generated a few half hearted chuckles, but other than that the joke fell a little flat.

"Let's get moving. We don't have that much time." Gaara said.

* * *

The group managed to reach the aforementioned canyon within a few hours, the noncombatants of the tribe had been left at the Temple, including older men like Nori, young children and any disabled, like Maira. Once there Jhimey and the other Swooping Eagles went underground, thanks to a hidden trap door, complete with ramp for the horses, buried under the sand that they used to get into the tunnels. Unfortunately for Hiashi not all of the Eagles had gone underground. Jhimey had decided that his son, Maro, would be accompanying Hiashi. Maro had a horn with him that he was going to blow three times when the Smoke were in position. Hiashi had wondered if Jhimey had done this to keep his son out of the way. To be honest it had not been a bad idea, and Hiashi had wanted to copy the tribal leader by dragging Hinata into the tower to keep her out of harm's way, but when Iren learned of the particular talents of Hiashi's team the Dragon had practically demanded that he have them for his tribe, as it would be easier if they could use Hinata's vision to find the Smoke and Shino's bugs to send messages to the Sand and Leaf ninja lining the canyon walls. These ninja were using various methods of stealth to hide themselves along the canyon, and they were doing a pretty good job of it, though there were so many new "rocks" lining the walls that it looked like a meteor shower had hit. Hiashi hadn't wanted to let Hinata go, but he didn't object. He knew to do so would be illogical, and it would be doing her a great disservice. She had survived this long without him and she could do so this time as well. And besides he had seen how protective Shino and Kiba were towards his daughter, and she was in good hands.

Jhimey may have been motivated by concern for his son, but he had not taken into account the fact that Maro, while willing to put aside his aggression in an effort to figure out Hinata, didn't make the same exception with Hiashi. And Hiashi figured out that the boy had a temper within four minutes of living with each other.

"Will you please stop pacing, it's very grating." Hiashi said, Byakugan active and scanning the sands.

"Shut up; don't tell me what to do." Maro said.

Hiashi focused his attention from the sand to his companion "What is wrong with you?" He asked.

Maro muttered something about stuck up city squatters, which ruffled Hiashi's feathers a bit. He had never been spoken to like that before, at least not like that by someone who, for all intents and purposes, looked like a Hyuga branch member. Hiashi shook his head and tried to ignore that annoying child.

But Maro wasn't done being annoying "I can't believe this! Stuck in an old tower with a snotty, stuck up, worthless old Leaf city squatter that's probably never seen the light of day in years! I'd be better off with a trained monkey!"

"At least with a trained monkey you would be with your own kind." Hiashi said. His left eyebrow was starting to twitch.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Maro whirled around to face him from where he had been pacing.

"What do you think it means?" Hiashi said. His voice was mild and soft.

Maro glared at Hiashi.

* * *

By nightfall the Bloodied Dragons and Team 8 had found the Smoke army; a long line of various transport vehicles and tanks rolling slowly but surely across the sand. Hinata, using her Byakugan, could see that the normal soldiers in their odd green jackets were piled into the smaller vehicles. She thought it was a good strategy. The things didn't seem to be powered by animals, and by riding in them the troops would be nice and fresh by the time they reached their destination. The other vehicles, the larger ones with the huge guns jutting out like the noses of elephants, would follow behind the transporters.

"I don't think that we can get past that armor." Hinata said. "It's pretty thick."

"We don't need to get past it. Technically we don't have to kill a single one of them, at least not yet. We just have to piss them off enough so that they follow us." Iren said calmly. He was sitting on his horse, the warriors of his tribe gathered around them ready to charge.

"If I get close enough I can plant my insects on their transports. They can't chew through metal, but the material on their wheels might be malleable enough for them to disable." Shino pointed out. "I don't think we want them to be able to escape when we get them into position."

"Can they time it?" Arch, who had only just reached the age to where he would be allowed to fight, asked as he twitched on his horse. The kid was nervous, and his nerves were being transmitted to his horse, who kept dancing on the sand; hooves shifting and shuffling around.

Shino nodded.

Iren nodded "Alright, pass em out."

To the ninja surprise, one of the Iifernati warriors dug into a bag and started to pass out guns.

Shino stiffened "Kankuro told us those were only used by the Smoke."

Iren shrugged. "Would you tell a foreigner everything about your insect friends?"

Shino was still stiff. "You are showing us."

Iren grinned "But I'm not a ninja. For one these are the older models." Iren held up a pistol "See this wheel thing on the side? It holds six bullets and only six. I have to reload this thing afterwards. From what the Eagles said the newer Smoke weapons don't do that."

Kiba snorted "I've never seen a Sand ninja use this stuff."

"That's because they don't." Iren shrugged "They consider their chakra enough, and they look down on guns in many ways. Iifernati will use them, but only in war. City squatters in normal towns, towns without ninja like the Hidden village, will use them as well. So do the hill folk in the south. Only ninja don't use them. But, as I said, these ones here aren't as advanced as the newer Smoke ones. Now is everyone ready?" The warriors nodded "Then let's go!"

Iren kicked his horse in the ribs and galloped towards the Smoke army, his warriors right behind them. The ninja kept pace right beside them.

After cresting a dune they were able to see the Smoke properly. The Dragons began to scream and holler at the Smoke, and occasionally they would shoot into the air. Iren had made sure that they were near the front of the line of Smoke soldiers. It was clear that the Smoke had been taken completely by surprised; as soon as they were a few feet from the Smoke the Dragons began to open fire. Hinata didn't think that they actually hit anything vital; most of the Dragon's bullets seemed to simply clang against the armor of the transports. As they were passing, however, Hinata noticed one of the bullets hit the glass of the lead transport and make a small crack. Swiftly she attached an explosive tag to a kunai and flung it at the crack, pushing with her chakra at the same time. The kunai's tip stuck to the crack, and the tag exploded. However, Hinata didn't stop to check the damage she had caused. The Dragons were already turning towards the pass, practically daring the Smoke to follow them.

"That was awesome!" Hinata heard Arch bellow. She felt an odd chill listening to the young Dragon. Even though she had never cared for Uchiha at all, and in fact found him rather grating and annoying, Sasuke had been a huge part of Naruto's life, and Naruto she did care for. However jarring she found Arch because of his appearance, she could not help but like Arch a bit better than Sasuke.

Hinata shook her head. Now wasn't the time for this. They had a mission. She activated her Byakugan and watched the Smoke, trying to see if they would follow.

* * *

The Commander of the Fourth Legion coughed as he dragged himself out of the ruins of his transport. His face was red with rage, or perhaps it was the smoke. How could this have happened? Those sand barbs had come out of nowhere! At first it had been funny seeing their useless efforts to destroy the superior weapons of the Empire, but then that little girl had tossed a knife, which for some reason had exploded. Somehow the explosion had managed to breach the gas tank, and the entire front of the transport had gone up in flames. That wasn't supposed to happen! It hadn't happened in the jungle! Every time the Empire had moved through that land they had met almost no opposition, and what opposition they had come across had been primitive and disorganized. True the Sand barb weapons had been out of date, but that blow at the end had managed to do what thousands of jungle spears had not, damage an Imperial transport.

"Sir, are you okay?" One of the soldiers asked as he grabbed their commander's arm and steadied the man. The Commander coughed a few more times. He was enraged. How dare they!

"I'm fine." The Commander stormed past the solider and climbed into the next vehicle. "after those barbarians!"

"Sir, are you sure. It's probably a trap!"

"Of course it is a trap! Do you really think that a bunch of Sand barbs can beat an Imperil Legion! Now after them! We'll make them regret taking arms against us!"

The rest of the Smoke army cheered, and began to follow in the nice clear path the Dragons had marked for them.


	55. Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Slaughter

"I can't believe they are following us like this." Shino said. "I think even Naruto would be able to see that this is a trap."

"They're probably relying on their superior weaponry." Hinata said as she looked at the oncoming enemy. Fortunately her circular vision also caught a few other things, like the fact that Kiba and Arch were muttering to each other in quiet tones, and occasionally chuckling amongst themselves. Hinata had no idea what they could be talking about, but she had a feeling that this wasn't good.

"Good. I much prefer an arrogant fool as an enemy. They make more mistakes." Iren said. "We're only few miles away from the trap. Let's give them another round, just to make sure they're good and angry."

The warriors got into position, and Hinata could not help but notice that Arch was walking his horse beside Akamaru, who was carrying Kiba. The two of them were still grinning. Hinata still didn't like it. She knew that Kiba could sometimes be a little immature, as well as hotheaded. However, the warriors were starting towards the Smoke army at a swift canter. Hinata and Shino followed on foot, while Kiba stayed on Akamaru.

As the group swooped towards the Smoke army Hinata grabbed a few more kunai to throw at them. She wasn't going to use one of those guns, not at all. It just seemed wrong, and she could see why the Sand ninja didn't use them. They were too loud, to messy, and a bit unpredictable. Plus, for fighting as a ninja they were relatively ineffective. They took too long to reload, though the newer ones might have solved this problem, but a fast ninja opponent could dodge individual bullets and then strike while the shooter was reloading. In fact the only reason that the Smoke guns had been so effective was the fact that they had fired in large groups, and it would have been hard to dodge so many. Hinata heard the guns beginning to fire, and she shoved the idle thoughts she had been having in the back of her mind. Concentrating she tossed her weapons at the Smoke. She was just turning to leave when she saw Arch and Kiba taking up the rear of the group. To her shock and horror the two boys, in almost perfect unison, presented their backs to the Smoke, shifted around until they were sort of squatting on their mounts, and mooned the entire Smoke army.

The roar of outrage could probably have been heard all the way back in Konoha. The Smoke, who had been going pretty fast up till now, actually sped up. Arch and Kiba, launching uproariously, urged their horse and dog forwards. Akamaru looked fairly annoyed with this; in fact he was shaking his head and sighing a doggy sigh.

"Kiba, what was that?" Shino asked sternly.

Kiba grinned "Extra incentive?"

Arch was grinning as well "Good clean fun?"

"Hey, they're really pissed now and they are chasing us. Isn't that what we want?" Kiba said.

"It wasn't necessary." Shino said.

"This guy doesn't understand the concept of fun, does he?" Arch said to Kiba.

Kiba laughed and ruffled the young boy's hair "Nope."

"Just because my definition of fun doesn't include rude and offensive gestures, that doesn't mean I don't understand the concept as a whole." Shino said.

Arch looked up at Kiba "What'd he say?"

"He doesn't understand our kind of fun. He likes doing things like…like studying bugs." Kiba groped for an activity that Shino liked.

"I wonder, Kiba, what you would have done if the Smoke decided to take a shot at the rather large targets that the pair of you presented to them?" Shino asked mildly.

Arch grinned and shrugged. "It didn't happen, though, so why worry about it?"

Shino turned his head towards Arch and studied the little brat. He had never given the kid a second glance, mostly because the boy didn't really interact with the ninja, aside from some general gawking. To Shino the passing rebalance to a traitor that Arch bore wasn't important. It was not like the brat had chosen to look as he did. Now, however, he was observing the kid. To Shino the kid seemed relatively unremarkable. He seemed cheerful and active, a typical young boy. Shino decided to keep observing the kid, just in case something odd did occur.

"If you don't plan ahead then you are doomed to make mistakes, and some mistakes can be fatal." Shino said.

Kiba rolled his eyes and Arch giggled. Neither of them seemed inclined to listen to Shino at all. The two of them rode off together, talking amongst themselves.

Hinata, who had come up while Shino had been talking to the ingrates, smiled at the annoyed bug user. "He's almost like a mini-Kiba, isn't he?"

Shino shook his head "Kiba didn't need a little choir to egg him on. This could be a disaster."

"I think it's a good sign." Hinata said. "His sister was hurt by us, but he seems to be holding no ill will towards us."

Shino nodded "I suppose that's a good point. Still, I'd watch them. We might need to pull them out of danger any day now. I can almost guarantee it."

Hinata agreed with him, but the idea of watching people to make sure they didn't make a mistake got her thinking about her father again. She couldn't help but feel nervous about Hiashi, which was almost absurd. Hiashi had never needed her to watch out for him. He was always so self assured and confident. Still, his recent behavior had upset Hinata. She didn't want him here, and had thought that time away from him would be good. However, she felt herself fretting at odd occasions and worrying about his welfare. She hoped that this mission was over soon. She could see the canyon in the distance, even without the Byakugan. Soon the trap would be sprung.

* * *

Hinata had good reason to worry about Hiashi, though not for the reasons she thought. Maro was driving Hiashi absolutely insane, and the feeling was mutual.

"He always does this." Maro growled. He had gone back to the angry pacing, which Hiashi had tried to ignore for almost nine solid hours. "Leaving me behind to babysit a Leaf. How humiliating!"

Hiashi's teeth were grinding together "Perhaps your father would let you do more if you were not such a petulant little brat?"

Maro turned "I never said I was talking about him! How'd you know that?"

Hiashi smiled "You just told me, little idiot." This was turning out to be kind of fun. Maro had said several things to this effect periodically, and Hiashi had enough of it. The kid may have had some Hyuga blood, but he clearly favored his father's side of the family. For one thing he was way too bulky and large to be an average Hyuga, sure he had the eyes, but the eyes were a dominate trait. The only real reason it was rare was because the Hyuga kept a strict control over who married who (at least they were supposed to), because the eyes were a dominate gene. Maro had also seemed to inherit the temper that seemed prevalent in just about every single member of his family that Hiashi had come across. In fact, the boy's temper seemed to be worse. He seemed to Hiashi to be almost frustrated about something. Curious about this, and bored, Hiashi decided to try and figure out why the brat was acting so, well bratty. Besides, they had time till the Smoke got here, and Hiashi was certain that he would spot them in time.

And just as Hiashi had guessed, his comments had made Maro angrier. "You think you're so smart, you little peacock. I bet you've never fought a day in your life!"

"You'd be wrong about that, Brat." Hiashi could see the kid's blood pressure rise every time he called him "brat", so he would keep doing it. Hiashi could read a person as well as Neji could, it was something that you learned as a Hyuga. "On the contrary, I think you're the one without battle experience here." He knew that he was pushing Maro's buttons the more he talked, and he could guess from Maro's face that he was on the right track.

"I've been trained to fight!" Maro said, but Hiashi could tell that was not the entire truth.

"Training, yes, I think so, but you've never actually fought for real." Hiashi said. Half of what he was doing was confidence. If he pretended that he knew everything then Maro would believe that he did. And sure enough the slight widening of the kid's eyes confirmed his suspicions. There was something going on here. Why would Jhimey have shoved his son in with Hiashi, when anyone else would have done just as well? Heck, if it came to that Hiashi could probably have used the damn horn himself. And why was the boy going on and on about "he always does this"? Was Maro's being left behind a normal occurrence during battle? If so this might have something to do the boy's seething aggression. It was Hiashi's impression that he was probably naturally aggressive, but if he was being held back in such a manner then this would only cause more issues with the anger management. "Your father won't let you fight. I wonder why. Are you inept?"

Hiashi could tell that the kid had enough. He could see the blow coming a mile away from the way the kid's muscles bunched up before he lunged at Hiashi. Maro aimed a punch at Hiashi, and the teacher in Hiashi imminently evaluated the blow. It wasn't bad, but it a bit too slow. Hiashi easily grabbed Maro by the wrist and tossed him aside.

"You're too slow. I can see your moves from a mile away." Hiashi said calmly.

Maro bellowed in anger and rushed him. Hiashi stepped to the side and tripped the kid. "You also let your temper rule you. How do expect to fight anything if you're always rushing around like a wounded bull?" He wasn't bored now. In fact Hiashi was starting to have fun. The last people he had taught were Neji and Hinata. Neji had the same pent up anger that his boy had, but he had been able to hide it better, and the anger had faded a long time ago. Hinata had no anger at all. To be honest this was kind of interesting to Hiashi. It was almost a game.

Hiashi continued to play with the brat, but as he played the Smoke were rushing ever closer, and Hiashi was no longer watching the canyon.

* * *

The decoy group thundered down the canyon, the angry Smoke soldiers at their heels. They had not taken their mocking from Kiba and Arch well, and were now in a total fury.

The Dragons reached the end of the canyon and whirled to face the Smoke. "Get ready. We'll attack as soon as we hear the horn." Iren said. He had his pistol at the ready, as well as a sword belted to his side. He knew very well that his gun only had six shots in it, and he fully intended to drop the thing and lay in with his melee weapon as soon as his round was used up. He aimed the gun at the charging Smoke and waited for the signal. The rest of his tribe also readied their weapons.

They waited. The Smoke drew closer, the muzzles of their own guns aimed and ready to blast the Dragons. At the realization that their foe had stopped the Smoke had deployed and were now arranged in neat little rows. Their commander called a halt, and several automatic weapons were now aimed directly at the Dragons.

For a second, no one moved. Iren waited for the signal. No signal.

"What the hell, where is the horn?" He muttered.

The commander of the Smoke grinned. Whatever trpe these barbarians had planned it was obviously a failure! "Ready." He bellowed in the language of his people, which no one save his own troops could understand. "Aim…" the noise of several thousand weapons being cocked filled the air.

By now Hinata had figured out that, for some reason, her dad had decided not the blow the damn horn, and if someone didn't do something then those Smoke were going to fire. Despite the loud protests from the others, she darted in front of the Dragon army and stood in front of the maws of a hundred muzzles, and that was just the first row of them. The commander looked at the little girl in front of him, standing there as if she thought she was going to stop them and laughed. "Fire." He said.

To say that both the Dragons and the Smoke were shocked when the small woman in front of them began to emit chakra from her palms in small beams was an understatement. And they certainly were surprised to see her move her hands so fast that a protective dome of flashing light beams appear from one side of the canyon to the other, apparently all emitting from Hinata's hands. The beams of chakra lashed out, slicing and blocking every single bullet from the Smoke, stopping the fire from hitting even a single Dragon.

"Arch, get to that tower and smack that idiot city squatter into gear, now!" Iren snarled. The girl, Hinata, had just risen in his estimation by a great margin, but Hiashi had greatly lowered. What was that fool doing?

There was a small winding path, probably another one of those used by goats, that lead up to the top of the canyon. Arch kicked his horse in the ribs and sped for the canyon. However, he only made it halfway up when the Smoke spotted him. A shout went up from the Smoke, and several of them turned as one and began to fire at Arch, who was now beyond Hinata's range.

"Kid!" Kiba bellowed. He had barely known Arch, but he sure as hell didn't want to see the poor thing shot! Akamaru barked and changed from dog to human clone right then and there, as if reading his master's thoughts. "Fang over Fang!" Kiba bellowed as he and Akamaru rotated in the air, their spin blocking the bullets in mid flight. It was a good thing that it only been a section of the Smoke troops that had fired at Arch.

Arch squealed at this, but to his credit he didn't stop. His horse was obviously terrified, only the whites of his eyes were showing, but the horse didn't falter or shy away but ran all the faster to the top of the cliff.

Meanwhile, the ninja at the top of the cliff were watching all of this in sheer puzzlement. They knew they were not supposed to attack until the signal, but the moment that Hinata began to defend the Dragons Naruto began to fidget.

"Something's wrong. This isn't supposed to happen. We need to get down there!" He said urgently.

"Naruto, wait!" Sakura tried to stop her friend, then she saw Arch break away from the group of Dragons, and his close call that was only halted by Kiba and Akamaru. Naruto saw this as well, and he had finally had enough. Soon the Smoke were being rained on by at least a hundred Narutos.

This caused a slight ripple on the canyon, as the other ninja milled about, wondering what the hell was going on and should they attack or not. Gaara suddenly decided that they would have to attack, as he doubted that Hinata could keep that attack up, and even though something had apparently happened to Hiashi that didn't mean that the rest of the plan wouldn't work. He gave the ninja his order, and soon the rest of the ninja were joining the ocean of Narutos. Small streams of sands picked up soldiers and either smothered them or crushed them. Kunai and other flow weapons flew. A large dragon puppet swooped and soared over the Smoke, belching fireballs. However, the Smoke soldiers began to take refuge in their transport cars and fired from there. They were not totally protected from the sand or the fire, or the occasional shadow or sand clone that would reach through a window to punch them in the face. Still they were protected from the most of the physical blows from the ninja, as not all of them could get enough chakra power in their hands to break the thick steel. Not even Guy, whose punches had always shattered steel before, only caused dents in the metal.

As if from a signal that none of the ninja or Iifernati could see, the huge tanks at the back of the Smoke column turned as one. There were fifteen tanks, and all at once all fifteen of them began to fire at the ninja remaining on the cliff as well as the Dragons at the other end of the valley. These were the ones with mid to long range attacks. Shocked, the ninja had little in the way of defense, and only a few of them managed to get away in time. Some managed to jump away or substitute in time, but the first round of tank fire made the sides of the canyon turn red with the blood of the ninja that had been lining it.

The tanks prepared for a second round, but all of a sudden huge red tentacles burst from the sides of the canyon and covered the remaining ninja in time. An ugly, octopus face emerged from the sand and a few more tentacles tried to grab at the tanks.

"Lord, that last tank is right on top of that trap door. We have a big problem here." Sticks emerged from wherever he had been to stand next to Gaara. His hands were emitting chakra strings, and he looked like most of his concentration was on the business of operating a puppet.

Gaara was about to give an order when Guy, who had been close enough to hear, bellowed cheerfully "I'll get it!" The green clad ninja leaped down towards the offending tank. To every single Smoke soldier's amazement Guy leaned down, grabbed the tank by a tread, and lifted the entire tank. With a heave Guy spun it to the side and slammed the offending tank into another, causing that tank to be utterly crushed.

The Eagles, who had heard the firing since it started, had been unable to do anything since there was the huge bottom part of the tank covering their trapdoor. In fact, Jhimey had been hitting the bottom of the tank with the hilt of his broadsword for the past five minutes. He was just about to give up when the tank moved and was flung away from the trapdoor. Jhimey poked his head out of the hole in the ground to see a rather tired looked Guy just standing there, grinning at him and holding up his thumb.

Shaking off the absurdity of the situation, Jhimey led his troops up from the hole and nearly had a heart attack. He could see from the blood on the canyon walls that this was not going well. And, instead of facing the squishy backs of soldiers eh was gazing at the treads of several tanks.

Jhimey could feel his wife coming up beside him. He knew that he could not back down, couldn't let his nephew down. Besides, he couldn't let his people see how utterly terrified he was right now. He drew his sword, bellowed and charged the tanks, followed by his people. Unfortunately their swords did pretty much nothing and since they had thought they would be facing soldiers instead of tanks, they hadn't brought any guns. So they ran through the forest of tanks, slapping uselessly at the metal tires, and causing no damage at all. The tank's guns swiveled and fired at the Eagles, and while most of them were too close to the tanks, so that the guns couldn't dip down enough to get them and the others couldn't do anything without hitting their own tanks, a few of the shots managed to land blows.

Gaara shook his head "This isn't going to work." If they stayed they would die. There were too many Smoke soldiers and their weapons were to powerful. They didn't have enough people, and if those tanks kept up soon they would break the Kraken puppet's tentacles. "Baki, tell them to retreat."

Baki, who had been with Gaara from the beginning, stared at his leader for a brief second and then nodded; he began to the call he retreat.

The Dragons were the first to go. They had been there the longest, and they wanted to get out of there and right now. Almost as one they wheeled around and ran. However, neither Shino nor Hinata followed. Instead they leaped to the top of the cliff, to find Kiba.

They found Kiba and Akamaru laying the ground, bleeding from several hundred wounds. Because of their rotation they had not died, but a few of the bullets had ended up in buried in Kiba's shoulders and legs, and a small chunk of Akamaru's back had been shot off. Arch was jumping from Kiba and Akamaru with a roll of bandages, clearly panicked and trying to patch the two up to the best of his abilities. When Hinata and Shino arrived he jumped and faced them, babbling in the Iifernati tongue and clearly panicking.

Hinata put a hand on the kid's shoulder to stop the babbling "It's alright, I can help them. Shino, can you take of that." She nodded at the tower in the distance, unable to even mention the man who she would have cheerfully strangled at this moment.

Shino nodded and went. What he found their nearly caused him to a silent blowup. How in the hell had Maro and that moron who presumed to lead them managed to miss the fighting? And why, why were the pair of them fighting like a pair of little children while ninja and Iifernati died? He was so angry that his bugs buzzed out and slammed into the two combatants. The two stopped and stared as the annoyed bugs buzzed around the tower and finally settled back on a fuming Shino.

Shino took three very deep breaths and said "If the pair of you are done, the army is retreating. I suggest you do the same."

"Army, what army?" Maro demanded.

"Ours, we are retreating. Now." Unable to say anything more Shino turned and went back to Kiba to see if he could do anything.

Now that he was no longer focusing on the kid, Hiashi turned his attention back to the canyon. He stiffened when he saw the slaughter thee, and the long line of Iifernati fleeing.

It occurred to Hiashi that he might have made a huge mistake.

* * *

A few hours after the battle, the only people left in the canyon were the Smoke. Calmly and efficiently the Smoke buried the few dead they had, turned their vehicles towards the capital and headed towards if, as if nothing had happened.


	56. Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The Face in the Tree

"I don't wanna go to bed!" Timius screeched as he stomped his foot down on the ground.

Temari folded her arms and loomed over the boy. She had no idea how to get a kid to go to bed. Sure she had sort of kind of helped raise Kankuro, but that didn't mean she had been a complete parent. She distinctly remembered giving poor Baki hell at bedtime, along with Kankuro. Trouble was that Baki's idea of getting to kids to go to bed involved shuriken and kunai, and Temari doubted if the Smoke would appreciate her using their intolerable spawn as target practice.

It was the same thing every night with these kids, they just refused to go to sleep, and would do just about everything to prevent it. The big problem was that Temari couldn't exactly stay with them, or even stay for long. Since she was technically a slave here she had to be at those damn dorms at night, and the kids and their antics kept her away. So far she had managed to sail under the radar because of her ninja skills, but it was getting very irritating. She could sneak by the rest of the household pretty much undetected, but the necessity of it was very annoying. Going to bed shouldn't have to be an exercise in sneaking.

"Look, I know why you don't want to go to bed, but you're being very silly." Temari said, trying to be patient. "There're no such things as ghosts."

The boy pouted but said nothing. Temari knew that in their minds there ghosts were real. Temari had believed in ghosts when she was little, very little, but that believe had faded away as she got older. However, for these kids the fear of ghosts was still very real, and they didn't like going to sleep. After all, ghosts could get them in the dark.

Timius sighed and crawled into his bed. He knew that he couldn't convince his new caretaker that the dark people existed.

Temari nodded and turned to leave. She just managed to catch Timius mutter "The last lady didn't see them either."

Temari didn't scare easily; growing up with the fear of her little brother had killed most fear of anything else. It would be hard for anyone to top the dread she felt when Gaara changed. However, as soon as she stepped out of the room she felt a shiver of unexplained dread. Chills skated down her back and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. Sensing someone watching her she turned to her left to face whatever it was.

For a second all she could see was utter blackness, which was odd because this wall had a window facing the gardens. She should have been able to see the outside, but all she could see was black. Then the black seemed to swim and flutter, like a raggedy old cloak. Then the thing swung away, revealing the window and the outside world. Temari's head turned to follow the shadow thing. It blew down the hall and turned a corner. Scowling heavily, and determined to find out what this thing was, Temari began to chase it. However, as soon as she turned the corner she lost sight of the thing.

Temari blinked. That feeling of dread had faded, as if the thing had taken it away.

* * *

Temari wasn't the only one who had encounters with the dark things. Perhaps it had something to do with his powers over shadows, but for some reason at certain times of the day Shikamaru felt very very odd in those stables. Specifically at dusk right before he had to leave. Almost every time he passed by the northeast corner of the stables Shikamaru would feel a sudden chill, and very creepy feeling. Sometimes, when the shadows were just right, Shikamaru would see something small and dark dart in between the stalls and disappear. Every time this happened the horses would snort and shake their heads, and a few of the more high strung ones would stamp their hooves restlessly. And Shikamaru, who was always on alert these days even though he made a point to look just as lazy and tired as he normally would in the Leaf Village, would feel an odd tug on his senses. It was as if his own shadow was responding to whatever it was that was creeping about.

And then their was that feeling of being watched. Shikamaru knew that something was observing him, even in the bright light of day, but he wouldn't see anything. At first he had thought it was Urik, the man who was quickly becoming Shikamaru's personal pain in the neck. The man just grated on Shikamaru, even though he couldn't decide why. But there times when Shikamaru knew that the man was gone, but the feeling of being watched never went away. In fact, right after the man would come back from wherever it was he went the feeling of being watched intensified, as if it had become stronger.

Shikamaru, while not that inclined to believe in the supernatural, did think that something odd was going on here, and he would have bet money that Urik had something to do with it. so he kept his eyes open around the stables, making sure that he observed Urik's comings and goings. He found that the man kept leaving every single week, usually during the middle of the week, or at least during what the Smoke considered the middle of the week.

So, in order to find out what was going on, or at least find out where Urik was going, Shikamaru had decided to follow him that night. There was a bit of risk involved, if he was caught Shikamaru was certain that that they'd probably do something nasty. At the least Urik would use that whip of his. Shikamaru didn't plan to give him the opportunity.

"You're sure you don't want me to come with you?" Temari asked him quietly. She had recovered from her encounter with the "evil sheet" as she was starting to think of it. Actually, now that the ominous feeling was gone Temari thought the entire encounter was rather unbelievable, and thought that it had just been her imagination. Perhaps she had been silly.

"I'll be fine, as long as you don't mind snuggling with a log."

"If you refer to this as 'snuggling' again I am going to poke you in the back with this knife." Temari snorted.

"Woman, would you lay off?" Shikamaru muttered. He wondered why Temari persisted in her foul mood. Was she really still upset over the way he had insulted her brother? Or was it something else?

Whatever, that wasn't his problem for tonight. Sighing Shikamaru switched himself with a transformed log. He leaped into the trees near the house and waited for Urik to show himself. Shikamaru knew from talking to Temari that the free servants had their own section in the actual house. Shikamaru settled down on a branch and waited. A few hours later the man emerged from the house.

Urik nervously looked around, checking over each shoulder. Shikamaru snorted. The man had no idea how to sneak around. For one thing he stomped over every single little twig in the forest. For another he was wearing a white shirt and black pants, he might as well have glowed in the dark. Still he didn't seem to be catching the attention of anyone at the house, which only made Shikamaru more and more irritated. It was like these people were retarded or something.

Shikamaru followed Urik as the idiot Smoke tried to sneak through the trees. Shikamaru traveled through the trees, and it amused him that the idiot never once looked up, and indeed looking up never seemed to cross his mind.

Shikamaru didn't like the forest here at all. It was strange and dark, and felt off. For one thing the fog came in pretty easy in this place, and in fact in the hours that Shikamaru had waited the fog had rolled in, chilling the air and making the entire place look ghostly. Then there was the fact that the tress in this place felt off as well. They were not the gigantic trees of the Land of Fire, but they seemed much older, at least they somehow felt older. If he squinted hard enough Shikamaru could see the forest floor, and while the tops of the trees were not as large and wide, the roots on the ground were extensive and gnarled. It was odd.

After a few miles Urik came to what appeared to Shikamaru to be a larger then normal for the Smoke tree. The tree's trunk seemed to be completely and utterly black in the night, but Shikamaru could bet that was just a trick of the darkness. The tree was old and twisted, warped around at odd angles. It was completely and utterly leafless, which of course made the small branches resemble claws instead of actual branches. Shikamaru knew that its gloomy appearance was the reason that he felt an involuntary chill down his spine. He knew that it was just a tree, just a bit of wood. The fact that it looked evil was just an illusion.

And the fact that, for just a moment, Shikamaru could have sworn that it was looking at him and grimacing, that was just a shadow passing over the room. It was just a cloud casting a shadow, nothing more. He didn't see a mouth filled with teeth in that tree. Not at all.

Shikamaru watched as Urik took out what appeared to be a small bone from his pocket. Shikamaru thought it might be a chicken drumstick. As he pulled the bone from his pocket a piece of paper fell out. Shikamaru slid from the tree and eased himself closer. Shikamaru eased closer and plucked the paper from right under Urik's nose. Urik wasn't even paying any attention to what was going on behind him. Shikamaru probably could have herded both Naruto and Lee out there in all their bouncy loudness and Urik would have been clueless. Honestly, it was embarrassing. It was sometimes hard to take these Smoke seriously until you remembered that their weapons were so advanced. Once he had the paper, Shikamaru darted behind another tree. He continued to watch as Urik tapped the tree with his chicken bone.

To Shikamaru's shock the tree began to move, the bark twisting and rippling away. The bark seemed to move away, exposing a hole in the tree about the size of a human. Urik looked around again, not spotting Shikamaru, and vanished into the hole. Shikamaru gritted his teeth and followed.

He held back a bit to let Urik get some distance on him; just enough so that he was sure that he wouldn't collide with Urik if he stopped suddenly. Shikamaru studied the area around him. He appeared not to actually be in the tree itself, but in an almost perfectly rounded dirt tunnel that led downwards at a gentle angle. There were strange little glowing globes stuck in the walls, casting long shadows but giving enough light to see by.

Once Shikamaru was certain that he wouldn't hit Urik if he collided with the man, he started to follow him down in the darkness of the dirt tunnel. He felt an odd tugging at the shadows, similar to the one he had felt in the stables, but stronger and somehow more insistent. He began to get a little nervous, and he didn't like this at all.

Shikamaru squinted. Was the darkness…swirling? He shook his head. He couldn't be seeing this! it looked like the shadows were starting to move, a bit like a whirlpool. The shadows in front of him lengthened and blended together.

_Shikammmaru._

Shikamaru jumped backwards and prepared to fight. He could sense something. He wasn't sure what it was though.

The shadows in front of him seemed to be forming a shadowy dark face with glowing red eyes and, for some insane reason, what appeared to be a wide brimmed hat. The face filled the dirt path, blocking Shikamaru's way. Other then the eyes and the hat the face was a totally featureless void.

_Commme to usss, Shiiiiiiiikaaamaruuu. Come and be with the ssssssshadows. Don't you want to be with usssss?_

Shikamaru had never in his life felt the dread he did right then. Not the time he had almost died facing a group of Sound ninja during the Chunin exams. Not when that flute playing crazy had him in her genjutsu. Not even when he had to face the fact that he had failed a mission. Even the horrible sounds of the werewolf transformation and the raw power of the Smoke weapons didn't feel him with this kind of dread. He was frozen in place, and for a few moments he couldn't move. Then that odd tugging came again, stronger and almost irresistible. He looked down and saw that his own shadow was lunging at the shadow face, trying to get to it. To join it. Somehow he was certain that if he let his shadow touch that face, then that would be the end. He would be lost.

Htat thought spurned Shikamaru on, and he turned and ran. Running from that thing was like running through water, he kept feeling something dragging at his feet. He realized that his shadow was still trying to get to the face. Shikamaru ran faster, like his life depended on it. He had a feeling it did.

He could see stars out of the hole in the ground where he had entered and gasped. The hole appeared to be closing. Shikamaru channeled more chakra to his feet and propelled himself forwards. With a final leap he scrambled to the hole. He was halfway out when the hole closed around his middle.

Cursing rather rudely, Shikamaru wiggled and twisted. He could feel his shadow straining to get back there. Finally with a pull he managed to wiggle free, falling to the ground. Shikamaru didn't pause to see if the shadow face was following him, he shot forwards to the trees and swung back to the mansion, never looking back once.

* * *

"What do you think it could have been, Temari?"

It was the next morning after Shikamaru's incident with the tree. While the Smoke kept both of them busy, the slaves of the manor did get a day off every two weeks, and today was that day. Not only that, but as long as they didn't try to leave the grounds, and there were enough free servants running around who would be glad to report wandering slaves if they ever did get the bright idea of jumping a fence or something, they could pretty much go wherever they wanted. Shikamaru and Temari had found a nice secluded spot, that was also as far away from both the stables and the forest with the evil tree as Shikamaru could find. They were situated pretty close together, and anyone who came across them assumed they were being intimate. The slaves usually reacted to this by ignoring the couple, while the Smoke would sniff disdainfully and turn away, as if the two ninja were a pair of dogs rutting on the front lawn.

Shikamaru had decided long ago that this people had huge problems with their sexuality, even worse than some feudal lords did. Okay, so ninja weren't exactly touchy feely as a rule, but these people were just ridiculous.

"Are you sure it wasn't some sort of trick?" Temari asked.

"I doubt it. I mean, I'm not sure what the Smoke technology is capable of, but it didn't feel right."

Temari sighed. "Genjutsu?"

"Maybe, but by who? Rogue ninja in the woods? If so, then why did they recruit a Smoke? And why haven't they shown themselves. I mean, we've not really been hiding our chakra."

"Maybe he's not as loyal to the Smoke as you think?" Temari shrugged "And if there are rogue ninja in the woods then maybe they are not sure of us. Maybe we are just a mystery to them as they are to us?"

"Yeah, but what about this. What do you think this scribble is?" Shikamaru held out the paper that Urik had dropped. "It doesn't look like anything from us."

"Huh." Temari studied the paper. On one side of the paper was writing, but Temari was uncertain of what it meant. Some of it was in the Smoke language. "It's saying something about 'the great well under the earth' and 'the worm' and 'chaining soul to soul.' It's odd." Temari flipped the paper over. The other side held and odd pattern of lines and circles, the lines were in the shape of a star, with the circles ringing each point. "Really odd."

"Do you have any idea what it could be?"

"I'd guess magic of some sort."

"Huh?"

Temari looked at Shikamaru and rolled her eyes "Remember Kankuro's witch friend? Remember the werewolves? We aren't the only people out there with powers. Maybe this is a new type of power."

"Maybe." Shikamaru shrugged. "But I don't like it. It feels wrong."

Temari nodded, as the wind picked up. Perhaps it was just their imaginations, but for some reason the wind carried a voice with it. Neither Temari nor Shikamaru acknowledged it, but each heard it.

_Shikkkkkkkkkkkaaaaamaru. Come back to ussss._


	57. Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Treasure

Neji coughed harshly into his hand, hacking as discharge from his nose actually ran down his throat a little bit. He hated that. That was the worst thing about this cold, the discharge. That and the fact that half the time he felt that he couldn't breathe. Although it had been seven days since he first caught this cold, Neji still felt a bit sick. However, he had spotted something while using his Byakugan, and he felt that Kankuro needed to see this.

Within the seven days they had been on that island the two of them had to dodge the skeletons, which only came out at night. However, if they were quiet enough and stayed well hidden then they would be safe from the skeletons. To be honest Neji had hardly been in any condition to fight at his peak, as he had indeed gotten a cold from staying out in the rain to long.

"You okay, should we stop?" Kankuro looked at Neji from where he had been climbing up the steep hill.

Neji shook his head "I'm fine. Let's keep going. You need to see this for yourself."

"You know I do trust your eyeballs, at least. If you say it's there I believe you."

"I still think you need to see this. Besides, I needed to get out of that cave before I go insane."

"And according to you we are going straight into another cave." Kankuro muttered disagreeably.

They walked on for a few minutes. Neji hated the silence. Normally he couldn't get either Guy or Lee to shut up, and you would have thought that being away from them would have been a relief, but once again Neji found himself missing them. He idly wondered what would happen if he tried to talk to Kankuro?

Well, only one way to find out. Partly inspired by his loneliness for his team, Neji asked "Do you miss your team?"

Kankuro stopped and looked over at Neji with an odd look. "My team? My team, as you call it, only existed in its entirety for a few years, and Temari and I spent most of our time avoiding Gaara. Temari and I trained together, you know that, but we were hardly a ninja team, just Baki's trainees. And Gaara spent a lot of his time after the Chunin exams trying to get the citizenry to trust him, and he did that by leaving our team and working with others. So, no, I don't miss my team." Kankuro snorted and turned away. "If you mean do I miss my siblings, then yes, I do. Teams don't mean as much too Sand ninja as they do to Leaf. Family is more important."

"Huh." Neji grunted. "Maybe that is why the three of you were so good. Maybe it was not because of Gaara, but because you were siblings and cared for each other."

Kankuro sighed "Leafs. What about you, Hyuga. Missing your buddies?"

Neji looked up at the clouds "I never thought I'd miss Lee and Guy's noise. They're so loud and they talk almost constantly. I thought that being on a mission with someone else would be a relief, but every time I don't hear their chatter I feel depressed for some reason. This has been the longest time I have been away from them."

"Oh I'm sure I can do a good impression of them, if you want." Kankuro said.

Neji paled even further, though Kankuro had thought that would not have been possible. "No thanks."

"Youth and effort!" Kankuro jumped the Crow out and began to work the mouth, all the while clacking the puppet's mouth open and closed. For the first time Neji noticed that Kankuro never moved his lips. "Flowers of youthful, er, youthyness and lotuses and gardens and, um, other plant things."

Neji snorted. It was a genteel snort, but a snort nonetheless.

"You're a ventriloquist." He said, pointed to Kankuro's throat.

The Crow went back to its scroll "Of course I can throw my voice. How do you think my substitution with my puppets work?"

"You don't do it all the time, though." Neji observed.

"No, but what's the point of doing it when people can see which are the puppets and which is me? I have enough to concentrate on when I fight; throwing my voice isn't something I want to occupy myself with." Kankuro shrugged.

Neji nodded. That was understandable. It was odd, the way Kankuro acted sometimes. Most of the time he was moody and irritable, but if you distracted him and kept his mind off certain facts he suddenly become friendly. It was a bit odd, but Neji was slowly learning that most Sand ninja had this odd duality. Now that Neji had a front seat in Kankuro's memories he had access to some of the old teachings of Suna, including this odd tendency of theirs to assume that anyone who saw them being in the least bit kind towards their teammates as a bad thing.

Neji used his Byakugan and eyed the area in front of them. "We are pretty close to the crevasse."

Kankuro nodded and sped up a little bit. Soon they had come to the crack in the cliff face that Neji had spotted from their camp.

"Lead the way Eyeballs." Kankuro said. "You're the one who can see in the dark!"

Neji coughed again and led the way into the cave with Kankuro close behind him. Neji followed the tunnel, his Byakugan outlining the walls of the cave. He could also see Kankuro behind him. For some reason Neji felt comforted by Kankuro's presence. He didn't like Kankuro's attitude, but he did appreciate the fact that Kankuro was on his side. Neji did wish Lee was here, just because his teammate had the uncanny ability to light up places wherever he went (even Neji had to admit it no matter how much he tried to hide it). But, on the other hand, he was starting to get used Kankuro, despite the fact that he spent most of his time being annoyed by Kankuro.

Kankuro gasped as the cave opened up to reveal a huge cavern. "See, what did I tell you?" Neji said with a smirk.

"Dang." Kankuro looked around. "This is a huge pile of gold."

And indeed it was a huge pile of gold, in fact of a whole cavern of gold. Neji had no idea what kind of coins they were, picking up a coin he could see that they had the figure of some sort of cat on one side and a person on the other, but he had never seen this type of denomination before.

"Do you recognize this?" Neji asked Kankuro, handing him the coin.

Kankuro eyed the gold piece "No, never seen it before in my life. But, still, it looks like gold to me. And I can see some other interesting hings here. Look." Kankuro flicked out a chakra string and pulled a long something out of the pile of treasure. "Think this sword has enough rubies embedded in the blade? Hell I think this might be silv-akk!" Kankuro dropped the sword. He had touched the blade of the sword and recoiled as if shocked. "What the hell! It just burned me!"

Neji looked down at the sword. It didn't seem to be odd to him. He gently leaned down and touched the hilt, which he noted with some amazement was solid gold, and encrusted with sparkling emeralds. He picked up the sword. Slowly he lowered a finger to the silver blade, but nothing happened to him.

"Huh, it's not doing anything." Neji said.

Kankuro glared at the blade, and then gingerly placed another finger on the blade. This time Neji was sure he heard a sizzle as Kankuro jerked back.

"It's just me, and only when I touch that silver thing. Hold up." Kankuro walked in to the pile and noticed a silver chalice, which he snagged with a chakra string.

"Careful." Neji said.

"I have to check this out." Kankuro said. He touched the chalice and jumped back. "Ouch! Man that burns! That's never happened before!"

Neji shrugged "It must be the werewolf thing again. If they are resistant to chakra maybe that means they are weak against silver?"

"Why would you think that one followed the other?" Kankuro said moodily.

Neji rolled his eyes "I mean that since the chakra resistance is a werewolf attribute then werewolves might have other new attributes, and this silver thing might be one of them."

Kankuro sighed "I wish the werewolves had left me a manual or something. I feel like I'm stumbling in the dark with all of this!"

Neji nodded "At least now we know why the skeletons are here."

Kankuro nodded and walked back over to Neji. "Yeah, they must have been put here by some sort of jutsu or something to protect this gold." He tensed as he heard something coming from the tunnel, the sound of footsteps and talking. "Neji! Aren't you watching?"

Neji's eyes widened as he activated the Byakugan. He hissed in anger when he saw what was coming up from the tunnel. It was a group of rather rough looking people, who looked a bit like the sailors on the smuggling ship, but with the air of bandits.

"What the hell, Hyuga! You're supposed to be the one with the eyes!"

"I can't see something I'm not looking for!" Neji was cursing himself. He had lost focus when he saw the gold, and the thing with the silver had distracted him. It was just like a few days ago when he had been distracted. He hadn't noticed the gold when they first got here, as his mind had been on other things until he had recovered and started to use his chakra more.

"How much of this gold do you want to bet they're the ones who set up the skeletons?" Kankuro hissed as he summoned his puppets. "Get ready for a fight!"

Neji nodded and took his own stance, placing himself a little in front and to the side of Kankuro. He knew that Kankuro was a mid range fighter, and Neji could concentrate on the close hand to hand fighting. Unfortunately, it meant that they should stay in this chamber, because if they didn't Kankuro couldn't maneuver his puppets, especially not in that narrow tunnel. At the same time that also meant that they could be surrounded better.

If only he had been watching! Now they had pirates! Or maybe more smugglers, but he would bet pirates. It just figured. When had his life turned into a bad adventure novel?

Neji tensed as the group of pirates rushed into the room, howling and pushing and being generally loud. Neji noticed that they were dragging some more chests filled with gold. However, the loudness stopped when the group of people saw Neji. The pirates dropped the chests where they were and glared at the two ninja. Neji thought for a second that perhaps they should try talking, but then one of the pirates, a rather large bearded man with small cruel eyes and the distinct smell of rum wafting from his clothes, drew a large cutlass and pointed it at them with a shout. The other pirates drew their blades and started to charge.

"Any idea what they are saying?" Neji asked.

"Nope." Kankuro shrugged "Let's go!"

Kankuro twitched his fingers and the Crow and the Cockroach swooped forwards. The Cockroach took the lead and cut into the pirates, blades flashing. The Crow swooped above and shot kunai and poisoned sebon at the pirates. However, there were a lot of pirates, at least fifty of them. Neji had no idea how all of them fit on one ship!

Still, they weren't even at the level of a genin, and while Neji recognized the hard glint in their eyes, an expression that Neji usually saw in hardened ninja killers, their skills were far below that of the ninja. It was not that they would not have killed the two ninja, if they had gotten their hands on them, but they just were not skilled fighters. Still, they had numbers on their sides.

Neji saw something odd at the back of the group of pirates. A man held a book in one hand, a black book with red print, and he was reading it and gesturing wildly with what looked like a bone in his other hand. All of a sudden Neji got a really bad feeling.

"Kankuro, that one!" Neji paused to point at the gesturing man. A pirate tried to take advantage of this and swung his sword at Neji's upraised arm. Neji flicked his arm up and deflected the blade upwards, then stepped into the pirate's defense and delivered two hard pokes to the man's sternum and throat, making him coughing up blood. Neji knew the blow had been fatal. The man had no chakra build up, and Neji had channeled enough force to crush the windpipe of his foe. Neji grabbed the dead man's shoulders and twirled him around into a pile of gold, then moved to another pirate, dispatching this new opponent almost as fast as he had the first.

However, he was too late, and Kankuro was too late. The man at the back of the pirate horde stabbed the air with his bone, and all of a sudden Neji felt a tug on his leg. He turned to find the man he had just killed gripping his leg, broken neck lolling back and forth. The thing's mouth opened and closed, and Neji had to fight back a wave of nausea.

All around him previously dead pirates began to rise and attack, pushing Neji backwards towards a wall, and all the while Neji begin to slow. He was still not completely well, and the weakness in his body was beginning to take a toll.

"Neji! Hold on!" Kankuro bellowed and took a few quick steps towards Neji, intent on helping his friend. However, he had forgotten the silver sword, and his foot landed on the sharp blade, which cut into his foot.

Neji's head jerked as he heard Kankuro scream. He focused his vision on his friend and noticed to his horror that Kankuro had accidently stepped on the silver sword, and the blade had pierced his shoe and burned his foot.

The man with the bone wand stared at Kankuro then pointed his bone wand at the piles of gold. A silver chain, a delicate thing probably previously owned by a noble, and a few silver bracelets flew upwards at the waves of the bone wand and flew at Kankuro. Kankuro turned just in time for the silver chain to wrap around his throat. Two seconds later the bracelets were wrapping themselves around his wrists. Neji could smell the burning flesh from where he was, and he shouted in horror and anger as Kankuro fell to the ground writhing in pain.

Neji could feel Kankuro's pain, through that rune. He knew the pain was immense for Kankuro, and for some reason he felt a surge of rage. Neji, though he still felt ill, began to spin, expelling chakra and moving as he spun. He wouldn't let this happen!

Neji's spin stopped just in time for a black bolt of energy to strike the ground at his feet, blowing him backwards. Neji flew into a small passageway in the rock wall, slamming into the rock and striking his head. Neji slid to the floor of this small passageway, dazed. He tried to struggle to his feet, but he was too late. Another bolt of energy broke on the rock just above the passageway, bringing the ceiling down on Neji's head. Neji spun again, or at least tried to. However, he was on the ground, and in a bad position for spinning. He was not totally crushed in the cave in, but the spin fizzled and several rocks struck him on the head. Neji's head hit the ground, and he slid into unconsciousness.

* * *

Kankuro gritted his teeth in pain. The burning on his wrists and throat was agonizing, but the sudden draining he was starting to feel was worse. He tried to get to his feet, to fight through the pain, to direct his puppets, but the silver was not only hurting him. It was also draining him. He felt sick. Neji was hurt, probably dead, and all he could do was huddle here on the ground with silver jewelry sapping his strength! How humiliating! The thing around his neck looked like it could easily be snapped in half, but he couldn't even bring his trembling hands up to snap it!

Kankuro noticed the sea of dead part and several pirates rushed over to him. Rudely they began to paw at him, running their greedy hands over his body, and Kankuro didn't need a translator to tell him they were looting him for valuables. He half hoped one of them would be dumb and remove the silver, but they didn't.

After searching him two of the braver pirates dragged him to his feet, holding him tightly by the arms. As they started to drag Kankuro towards their apparent leader, Kankuro stopped trying to fight. He was not going to get away with this stuff on him, and he would need all of his strength if an opportunity came to escape.

And when he did escape, Kankuro was going to make them all pay. Permanently.

* * *

The pirate lord grinned as he newest prize was dragged towards him. He had been enraged to find thieves skulking around his treasure, but now it seemed that a new opportunity had fallen into his lap. The captain wasn't going to turn down a free slave, especially a werewolf! Those creatures were vicious monsters, but if you knew the right people they could be valuable. Normally he took his slaves from villages he and the ten ships under his command raided. But they rarely had werewolves.

"Necromancer, think we can get this beast to the arena before the next full moon?" the lord didn't mention the fact that he had considered selling his new necromancer as well for his obvious failure, but the failure had led to a capture, so the lord didn't mind.

"Probably not, but it would be better if we presented them a slavering beast then a man with makeup." The Necromancer grimaced.

The pirate lord nodded. "He'll more then pay for that silver around his neck." The lord grinned at the beast, who snarled a bit at him "Look, he even acts like a wolf in human form! He'll probably make a good gladiator. Even if he doesn't the crowd will love to see a real werewolf being torn to pieces! Take him to one of the slaver ships and chain him up. And wipe his face! My property isn't going to the block with crap all over its face!"

"Lord, what about other slaves? Do we still raid?" The captain of the slaver ship, _the Crusher_, asked.

"Raid along the way, but get that thing to the western lands and to the Greakrom Arena. Move it!"

The captain bowed and grinned. He had been lucky. The two holding the monster were his crew, and he was going to take advantage of this. _The Crusher _and her crew would get a nice percentage of the profit! He hustled his men out of the cave fast, determined to get ahead of the other ships.

"What about that one in the passage?" One of the other captains asked.

The lord of pirates shrugged "Probably dead after that rock fall. Leave him. Even if he survived I' m not going to waste time digging him up. Let him rot."

The pirates spent a few moments dumping their profits in the cave, then left. They didn't even spare a glance for Kankuro's fallen puppets, as they figured the puppets were now their rightful loot. The pirates left quickly after that. None of them really wanted to get near the puppets. Perhaps it was just their own superstitious nature, but the puppet's eyes seemed to follow them, judging them and hating them.

Soon the puppets were left alone, stretched out on the piles of gold like discarded toys. No one was their when the Crow clacked its head, as if mourning the loss of its master.


	58. Chapter 58

Chapter 58

New Teammates as the Plot Demands

Neji looked around in frustration. He was certain that right now Kankuro was being killed, or at least hurt, and what was he doing? He was having another vision memory thing instead of getting up and fighting. He couldn't wake himself up, though he had tried. Unfortunately, nothing that Neji did could snap him out of the vision. So, he would have to sit around and wait.

Neji sighed as Kankuro paced around the training ground that Baki and his students seemed to favor in all of these visions. Baki seemed very tense. Baki reminded Neji of his uncle, stern and almost cold, but there were signs. Neji thought that, if he meet the man now he would be able to predict what Baki would do in a given situation. Not as well as Neji would have been able to predict Hiashi or even Guy's actions, but he could make a pretty decent bet. Neji though that Baki looked a bit worried.

"I don't believe this." Kankuro said as he paced.

"We knew that it would happen someday. I've tried to prepare the both of you for it." Baki said with apparent calm.

"Yeah, but I'm going to be gone a whole year! What if…" Kankuro trailed off and gave Temari a mournful look.

Temari rolled her eyes, walked over and smacked him on the head "I can take care of myself, little brother. He can't be worse then you!"

Kankuro glared at her "I'm serious! It could kill you!"

Baki now smacked Kankuro. "Gaara is a he, not an it. And if he goes for Temari, I will step in. I may not be able to fight the One Tail, but I can evade it. Besides, it's probably a better idea if we ease Gaara into the life of a ninja. We don't want to overwhelm him. It will be hard enough getting him to fight beside Temari, to say nothing of you. You're a handful."

Kankuro glared at his sensei. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're difficult." Baki said simply.

"I'm not the mass murderer of the family." Kankuro grumbled.

Baki sighed "Kankuro, do you want to come with us today, or do I have to give you more quality time with the flagpole?"

Kankuro shuddered "I got sunburn from staying so long on that thing, you know that right? You're not really going to use that as your new punishment, are you?"

"I just might." Baki said.

Kankuro settled down a bit, but only by a bit. Then he turned the west and tensed.

Neji followed his eyes. His back stiffened as he saw who was coming. The Fourth Kazekage, and beside him was Gaara. The younger version of Gaara was glaring at everyone and everything, his face a mask of dislike and barely controlled rage. The boy looked like he wanted to kill everyone here, and the tension between him and his father practically sparked through the air. Neji at first was shocked at Gaara's hateful expression. Neji had gotten used to the calmer, more stable Gaara that he had almost forgotten how he was like when he was younger. But then he remembered the Chunin exams. Neji had, at first, only had paid attention to Sasuke and his own cousin. Sasuke because of all he had heard of the Uchiha, and he had watched Hinata because he had been waiting for the opportunity to hurt her, maybe even kill her. But then he had seen the match between Gaara and Lee, and though Neji always thought that Lee would never be a good ninja seeing him being hurt like that had not sat well with Neji at all, and he had truly started to hate Gaara then, though he didn't show it. In fact he had only shared this feeling of dislike with Tenten and Guy, and that was perhaps the only reason Tenten had offered to help him train. Neji knew that Tenten hadn't like his cruelty to Hinata, but she had liked Gaara even less. Neji didn't thought that Lee would recover, but that didn't mean that Neji was not a Leaf ninja. He had fully intended to make Gaara pay for hurting his teammate, but Naruto had changed that. Neji had often wondered if he had ignored Naruto's growth in favor of other distractions, and that was why he lost.

Neji snapped back to reality when the sand in Gaara's gourd emerged and started to shift towards Kankuro and Temari in a threatening manner. The Fourth glared at his youngest son.

"Remember what I told you." The Fourth said.

"I remember. I won't kill them if they stay out of my way. I just want them to understand that." Gaara glared at Kankuro then Temari then Baki. Baki had stepped in front of his students, matching Gaara's glare.

The Fourth nodded at Baki, whose eye didn't leave Gaara at all. The Fourth then left, leaving the new team behind to sort themselves out.

"You want to be a ninja?" Baki asked.

Gaara blinked "What sort of question is that?"

"A traditional one, just answer it."

"I have no purpose but to kill. The only way to kill without being bothered by my father anymore is to become a ninja. That is the only reason I am here." Gaara said.

"That is not why a person becomes a ninja." Baki said.

Gaara snorted "None of you think of me as a person. Why should I think of myself as a person?"

Temari winced, and started to say something, but Baki gave her a look. He turned back to Gaara "You will come with us. I have something to show you all. Perhaps when I am done you will understand."

The four of them set off into the desert, Kankuro and Temari sticking close to Baki like a pair of scared sheep, and Gaara stalking behind them, the wolf in the sheep pen. Neji could feel the tension in the air, and it was enough to make him nervous even though this was just a memory.

Finally they came to a small oasis town, or what had been a small oasis town. The buildings stood open and empty, the doors flung wide. The only sounds were the buzz of a few insects and a the occasional scratching sound of a small desert rat searching for food in the earth.

Gaara's gourd popped open again. The sand spread around nearly the feet of the other three ninja. Kankuro noticed first and he hopped away with a yelp.

Baki turned and glared at Gaara "What are you doing?"

"I won't be lured into a trap. This place is deserted. There can be no mission here." Gaara said.

"Wow, you're a paranoid little runt." Kankuro laughed in an almost manic manner "Baki is our teacher; he's going to teach us something!"

Gaara glared at Kankuro and the sand shot towards him. Kankuro screamed at the sand wacked him in the chest and sent him flying into the air.

Baki tensed, but Gaara did no more. He just kept glaring at Kankuro. "Never call me that again. You only get one warning."

Kankuro got up and probably would have said more, but Baki walked over and slapped a hand over his mouth "Enough. Pay attention."

Neji had to admire him. If Neji hadn't known about the actual threat that Gaara posed he might have believed that Baki was simply admonishing unruly students.

Baki stood in the middle of the village. He looked at his students. Temari and Kankuro were watching and listening intently. However, Gaara stood there, giving no indication of how he felt.

"A long time ago this village was one of the waypoints between here and the Land of Fire. It was a small village, but a prosperous one. However, its prosperity brought bandits, and in time they asked the Sand village for aid. Since this was only a case of a simple bandit attack, the Kazekage sent a young but promising team of genin. However, they soon found that the leader of the bandits was a rogue ninja, an S class criminal far beyond their capabilities. Two of the genin fell in battle, and their jonin teacher ordered the last one to get help from the village. This genin refused. He loved his sensei, and didn't want to abandon him. He thought that abandoning his master and father figure as a betrayal. So he stayed, and he died. The jonin died. And when the rogue ninja was done with them, the rest of the village died as punishment for daring to resist the bandits and call for help."

Baki paused and looked at his students again. Both Temari and Kankuro were still staring at him with awe in their eyes. Gaara was still bland.

"An entire village and a group of ninja that could have gone on to be great were killed, killed because one of them was selfish. It is said that we ninja are tools. That is false, though you will say it more than once when you become one. Sand ninja will say it, but that is only because no other ninja in the world are like us. We are not just tools. We are protectors. We are the last legacy of a group that died so that their people might live, and it is that creed that all Sand ninja must obey. You may care for your teammates, you may even grow to love them, you might call them brother or sister, but you should never put the life of another ninja above the life of a civilian. We will do anything to succeed in our missions, not for the power or the glory, but because success will bring food and money to the village and feed our people and make them safe. We fight till the end, not for pride, but to keep our people safe. All that we do is to keep the people of our land safe, and any ninja that does anything less is the worst kind of ninja. Any ninja that puts the lives of his friends above the lives of the people he is sworn to protect is a selfish fool. The Leafs, or closest neighbors, believe the exact opposite, but that is because the Land of Fire is soft. Their land is not as harsh as ours, it is rich and fat, and so they can afford to be idealistic fools. Remember this when you are in battle or out in the field, and no matter what happens, keep our people safe."

"So we shouldn't help each other if we get in trouble?" Temari asked.

Baki shook his head. "If you can preserve the lives of your team without putting the mission at risk then by all means you should help. I am not saying you should treat your fellow ninja as expendable, but you need to remember your priorities. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" Kankuro and Temari said at almost the same time, but Gaara simply glared.

"You don't have to worry about me helping any of you." Gaara snarled. "I don't care about any of you." With that Gaara turned away and headed back towards the Sand village on his own.

Baki sighed and shook his head. "I suppose it was too much to hope for. I had hoped that I could reach him."

"Like there's any hope of that." Kankuro grumbled.

Neji sighed. The funny thing was that their way of thinking actually sort of made sense. Of course Guy had, like most of the Leaf ninja that he knew, preached the virtues of teamwork and solidarity like a religion, and while Neji was not as loud and annoying as certain people he could think of, the idea was still a part of him. Neji would never think to abandon a Leaf ninja; he had gone after Sasuke after all, despite the fact that he thought very little of the twerp. But still, what Baki had said had not only stuck a cord with Temari and Kankuro, Neji had found himself sort of understanding the viewpoint. He knew, however, that he could never put a mission before the lives of his fellow ninja. Even so, he was beginning to understand the Sand ninja and the way they thought, at least a little bit.

The vision began to fade, and Neji tensed. He knew that it was time to get to work. He was not leaving Kankuro. He chuckled to himself. In a way he was almost fulfilling both philosophies. Neji considered Kankuro as a friend, but he was also "the mission" as well. Hadn't Neji been given orders to watch out for him?

At least Neji thought it was funny.

* * *

Neji awoke with a horrible headache, as well as a piercing pain in his leg. He moaned and tried to sit up and struck with a sudden bought of dizziness. His head came up and rubbed his head, and with a sickening jolt of nausea he realized he was bleeding. He looked at his hand, but it was too dark to see. He could feel the sticky blood on his fingertips, though.

Neji groaned and activated his Byakugan. Now able to see in the dark, he scanned his own body. He did have a head wound, but it was shallow. He wasn't a medic, but he wondered if he might have a concussion. His vision was a bit blurry. He scanned the rest of him and found a rock sitting on his leg. Looking through his own body he grunted in frustration as he saw a fracture in his leg bone. Perfect.

Where was Kankuro? He sent his vision out. He saw pirates still scurrying around the island. He narrowed his vision and saw a ship in the distance, heading west. One a hunch he focused on the ship and scowled at what he saw. In the hold of the ship was a very sick looking Kankuro, chained to the floor and apparently unable to move. Neji could even see the delicate silver chain wrapped around his neck.

Neji knew the he would never catch up to him, but he had to try. Fighting the pain he rolled the rock of his leg. He reached into his bag and came out with a few scrolls. He knew that Tenten sometimes packed a few of her weapon scrolls, and he needed a very specific one. He used the scroll, and a metal rod appeared. Normally it would be used as a weapon, but now Neji was going to used it for something different. It was composed in several parts. Neji took two smaller parts and put them parallel to his leg. He dug into his bag and came out with a roll of bandages, which he used to wrap the leg and the rods, making a very makeshift splint. He used the rest of the rod as a crutch.

Gritting his teeth, because standing up was still painful; Neji got to his feet and turned to the collapsed entrance. Focusing and ignored the pain, Neji concentrated and gathered chakra into his hand. He released the chakra into a large beam and disintegrated the rocks blocking the entrance with a single blow.

He knew from his Byakugan that he was alone in the gold cavern, and it was a good thing. Neji didn't think that he was going to be fighting another army of pirates alone again. He sighed as he limped forwards. He was free, but what to do now?

"Well well, you're alive! And you got out of that. Interesting."

Neji jerked in surprise. "I must have hit my head harder than I thought."

"I hate it when people say that. Wouldn't you know how hard you hit your head? It's your damn head!"

"Who is that? Why can I understand you? Where are you?" Neji was mildly frantic now. He couldn't see anyone! Had his Byakugan come across an invisible foe?

"Karmath. I can learn any language by hearing it. I'm down by your left foot."

Neji looked down "All I see is gold and jewels! What are you, a talking gold piece?"

"Eh, you're close. See the blue jewel right beside the small pile of coins and the ceramic piggy? At least I think it's ceramic."

Neji looked again, and he did indeed see a rather large rectangular blue jewel next to a ceramic pig. It did sort of look ceramic. Why would there be a ceramic pig…Neji shook his head. His mind was wandering. It must have been the blow to the head.

To Neji's shock the blue gem seemed to flicker and an eye appeared. A big green eye, very similar to that of a lizard, or maybe a cat. "Hello. I see you." The voice said again.

Neji blinked. "I must have brain damage."

"Oh, I hope not. I was hoping that we could help each other, but I am not about to go with a simpleton. Perhaps a better demonstration is in order?" The blue gem flashed again and emitted blue smoke. Neji backed away, almost falling again due to his broken leg. The smoke briefly solidified. The form it took was completely foreign to Neji. The large smoke creature in front of him had a long powerful body, four tree trunk sized legs and a thick tail. It had wings on its back that reached from one end of the cavern to the other. Then the smoke blew away.

"What the hell was that?" Neji asked the blue gem.

"Just a little projection, I'm a lot more solid than that in person. Better looking as well." The gem said.

"Can you perhaps answer my question? What are you?"

"A dragon, you idiot. Haven't you ever seen a dragon before?"

"No." Neji said.

"Ah, so you're just ignorant, not stupid. Wait, maybe you are stupid. You're proving to be very slow."

"I don't have time, for this." Neji said, his last iota to patience disappearing. "I need to rescue my friend."

"Oh wait! Wait! I'm sorry for calling you stupid! And ignorant, even though you are. Look, I can help you. You're friend is the werewolf with the toys, right? I can help you if you help me!"

"Why would I do that?" Neji asked.

"You need me. Your leg is broken. And you're friend is probably halfway to the arena in the west right now. That's were all of that idiot human pirate's werewolf prey goes. I've managed to listen in to his conversations from here. You can't swim there, and I doubt that you'll get them to give you a lift. I can fly you there."

"And what do you get out of this. I don't believe for a moment that you are willing to do this out of the goodness of your heart!" Neji said.

"I want to go with you. Anywhere, I don't care where. I am so sick of looking at this damn cavern, but I can't leave. I'm bound to the gem, and I can only emerge from this place for a short time. Without someone to carry me I'll end up dropping the gem into the ocean or on a mountaintop or something like that. I want to see something other than this place. Take me with you and I will help you. I promise."

"If all you want is to leave, why haven't' you made yourself known the pirates?"

"Have you smelled them? Have you heard them? I'd rather die than be beholden to a pirate! I have honor, you know! Plus, a least you don't stink."

Neji thought the creature was lying, but he really didn't have any other options. He couldn't walk over the ocean, not without running the risk of draining his chakra and falling in.

"Alright. I agree for now."

"No for now. I hate to tell you this, but once you pick me up and agree to use my power then we can't go back on it. Unless there is another to take me I'll stick with you forever."

"I don't like the sound of that." Neji growled.

"You know what they do to werewolves in that arena? They make them fight monsters and animals and humans with pointy sharp sticks. They go until the poor things die. They like to see them die. It's fun to them. You really want to leave your werewolf to that?"

Neji scowled, but he couldn't think to anything else to do. He reached for the blue gem. "His name is Kankuro, and he is not my werewolf. I don't own him. He's not my possession."

"How cute. You got a name kid?"

"Neji Hyuga." Neji said as he picked up the gem. As soon as he touched it the thing blazed blue flame. The fire traveled down Neji's arm and through the rest of his body, but he didn't feel any pain. There was a rush of…something, but then it was gone as the flames faded.

"As I said before, I am Karmath. Now, are you ready to save your werewolf?"

"He's not mine, stop calling him that!"

"Yeah yeah, sure sure." Karmath said.

Neji had a feeling he had made a huge mistake.

* * *

A/N: And, according to Tv Tropes, this is what we call New Powers as the Plot Demands (hence the title), even though I had the idea since I thought of the "lost on a deserted island used by pirates" thing. I hope it doesn't come across as a total ass pull. I think it might be, but I couldn't help it.

Have I mentioned I have a dragon obsession? I do.


	59. Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Flight

Neji at first ignored the blue gem he was now holding. He needed to get some things before he left with the dragon. First thing he had to take care of was Kankuro's puppets. Neji didn't really like the things, they were creepy, especially Crow with its odd clanking and chattering, but he knew that they meant a lot to him. You couldn't be a puppeteer without the puppets. After a bit of rooting around in the piles of gold, Neji even found the empty summoning scrolls for the puppets.

"Looking for good loot?" The dragon asked.

"No, trying to figure out how to work these puppets." Neji said. He stared from the puppets to the scrolls. He knew the basics of storing equipment in scrolls, but never anything with as much mass as the puppets. Neji sighed and shook his head. There was no way he was going to figure this out right now, and they were running out of time. Neji looked around and spotted a pair of rather large expensive rugs sitting amongst the pile. He limped over, grabbed the rugs and proceeded to roll the puppets up in the rugs.

"You know how expensive those things are?"

"I don't care. They'll do for now." Neji said as he dug some ninja wire from his bag and tied the rugs with the wire. It was strong wire and it should hold. He'd have to remember to apologize to Tenten for grumbling about her sticking her stuff in his bag. He tightly wrapped the wire around the bundles, tying them as secure as he possibly could.

"How much of this gold are you going to take with you?" The dragon asked with a resigned sigh.

"No. I just need this stuff for Kankuro's puppets." Neji said with the utmost patience.

"You actually care about the mutt, don't you?" Karmath said, amused. Neji chose not to answer the thing. He too busy.

"Now," Neji said when he was finished. "How do you propose we get out of here?"

"Do you have any idea what a dimension is?"

Neji stared at the gem "Like the dimensions of a triangle?"

"Sort of. How do I put this…This world, and the space that surrounds it is a universe with its own laws and functions. Imagine a bag of marbles. Each marble contains a universe, with its own planets, space and people inside. Do you follow?"

"A bit." Neji said, though he had no idea what in the world "space" meant. He assumed it meant empty air.

"I live in a pocket dimension, a smaller version of a real universe. It's like this island, floating and alone. However, we dragons have the ability to transfer a bit of our power and energy through the Aether and into other worlds, any world where the gem is."

"Okay, how does this help us?" Neji grumbled.

Karmath sighed "There are many ways I can manifest in your world. The…other dragons and their riders came up with several phrases we can use. We need me out there, fully formed to fly you, but this will be the fastest way to drain my energy. Once my energy is drained I will have to return to my dimension, though I will still be able to see what happens in yours."

"Well, then come out." Neji said. "We need to go now!"

The dragon laughed. "Wow, you got the first phrase right off the bat!"

Neji blinked "It's just 'come out'? That's not exactly hard!"

The dragon didn't answer. Instead the blue smoke poured out of the gem and swirled into the form of the dragon once again. But this time, instead of just hovering there the smoke blew away, revealing a huge scaled lizard. Neji's eyes widened when he saw it. It was huge, about as long as the gates in front of Konoha, and about as tall as an average house. This was not counting the wings, which spread out double the width of the big beast's body. It had a long neck and tail. The head was pointed and sharp, and not unlike the heads of the lizards Neji had eaten in the desert. In fact, aside from the wings the thing was basically a blue long necked lizard. However, after a second Neji found that was not as true as the first impression suggested. Its front legs were long and muscular, and the back legs were even more muscled, but shorter and a bit stumpy. It made the creature stand more upright then the belly dragging stance of a true lizard. A pair of long sharp straight horns poked out of its head, in the place where ears would have been.

"Well, mount up and let's go." The dragon said.

Neji grabbed the puppets and jumped to the dragon's back. Karmath jerked a bit and turned his head around to glance at Neji, surprised at the ninja's abilities. Karmath looked at Neji contemplatively as Neji placed the rug wrapped puppets on his back. Neji noticed a small dip in the dragon's back where the scales when from a tight half oval pattern to a smooth plate. It was almost like a saddle, or at least a place where a saddle could go. Neji placed the puppets behind this dip. Neji attached more wire to the rugs and dropped down below the dragon, darted beneath Karmath then jumped to the other side. He made sure to land on his injured leg, and in fact at one point he was hopping on the working limb. Karmath observed all of this with a bemused expression.

"You done?" Karmath finally asked.

"Yes." Neji jumped to the dip in the dragon's back and sat down. He channeled a mild bit of chakra to his hands and feet in order to stick.

Karmath twitched "That tickles."

"I thought you said we don't have much time. Start flying." Neji said.

Karmath laughed and reached down, scooping up a small pile of gold in his claws. He reached over and poured the gold in Neji's hands. "I'm not greedy by nature, but we might need this later. I'll not have you staving for lack of funds!" The big creature turned to the entrance of the cave. "Duck, human." He roared and charged with fire blasting out of his mouth. Nejithe ceiling of the caves, and it was upsettingly close to Neji's head. Neji kept a firm grip on the dragon, as well as a close eye on the ceiling.

Finally they emerged into daylight, scaring a group of pirates that had been getting rather drunk near the entrance. Karmath roared and breathed fire, scattering the pirates in his wake. With another roar Karmath leapt into the air, wings flapping and working for height. Neji gritted his teeth as bolts of pain shot through his injured leg, but just as before he gritted his teeth and bore it. He had no choice.

Neji had thought that Temari and her fan had been bad, with the jerking and speed and the uncomfortable sensation of being on something that was very very thin and also very very high. This, however, was a different kind of flying. Sure Karmath was a bit more solid compared to a fan, but he also rocked a lot more then the fan did. Jerking and rolling in the air was not pleasant, and all of a sudden Neji wanted to get off. It didn't help that his bloodline let him see the ground in excruciating detail, but also the clouds they were approaching at a rapid pace.

Karmath climbed to the top of the sky, and Neji felt like he was going to be ill. However, once they had gotten high enough Karmath spread his wings and began to glide gently on the air.

"They're going west!" Neji called.

"How would you know that?"

Neji grunted "Fro one thing you told me yourself in the cave! Secound of all I can see the ship!"

"Impossible! You can't possibly see them from where you are!" Karmath objected.

"Why do you think my eyes are pale like this, dragon?" Neji asked.

"I assumed you were blind." Karmath chuckled.

"It's my bloodline limit, I can see far away." Neji wasn't going to talk about chakra, not yet. Best to save that for later.

"Hmmp." Karmath grumbled. "If you say so." The dragon didn't turn west, though. Instead he turned more south-southwest.

"What are you doing?" Neji growled.

"Heading for land. I'm having a hard time catching a good thermal here, and I need a thermal. And I am not going back into my gem and have you lose me in the ocean somewhere. At least I can't sink into the ground!"

"Unless you land in a swamp." Neji pointed out.

"Oh shut up. I'm the one doing all the work here! Watch the scenery or something!"

Neji settled back and stuck the gold that the dragon had retrieved into his bag for safekeeping. He thought of the bag of money that Sticks had given Kankuro and wondered where the other ninja had put it. It was either still with that treacherous captain or lost on the island. Neji shrugged. Nothing he could do about it now. With some irritation he realized then that dragon had actually thought clearly in that regard. He'd have to give Karmath credit for that. He noticed through the Byakugan that, back on the island, a man was standing amongst the pirates, apparently ranting and raging. Neji winched as he saw the man, who had to have been their leader, lop off a pirate's head in a fit of rage. Neji shrugged as the island went over the point that he could see it clearly. There was nothing he could do about that either. He'd have to help that the pirate leader didn't try to come after them.

Neji thought that about two hours had passed, and he thought that he was going to die. Occasionally the dragon would flap madly, and every time that happened Neji might as well have been in a torture chamber. His leg was hurting bad, and Neji could see that the small fracture was widening a bit through the stress. It sent little bolt of pain through his body and up his spine. Neji was never going to complain about Guy's training ever again. It had clearly made him strong, not as strong as Lee, but without Guy Neji had a feeling that this would have been worse. It was also getting cold up there, with the wind and all, and Neji was being to feel sick again. His nose was starting to run, and the coughing was back. He realized that flying on the back of a dragon in the wet air was not a good thing when you were getting over a cold. His chest was starting to hurt.

He gasped and used the Byakugan. "I can see the shore; we should be there in thirty minutes or so." Neji gasped.

Karmath craned his neck and stared at Neji "You don't look good at all." He said.

"I know." Neji said. "How are you holding up?"

Karmath blinked in surprise "I can make it." The dragon said simply. However the wing beats became stronger as the dragon sped up. Neji hissed as his fracture rubbed together, and he wondered if this would hamper his ability to walk.

Finally the shoreline came in sight. Using his Byakugan Neji could see a strange thick forest to the east, far greener than any forest Neji had ever seen. Vines draped on the branches of the trees, and unless Neji was imagining things he thought he saw some movement inside the foliage. Neji ignored the forest and looked to the west, there was a patch of plains beyond the trees, and a small inland sea and on the western side of that sea was a range of mountains. Neji remembered this from the witches' questions on the cliff. So that forest must be what Cassudina had called The Land of Twisting Vines, and so these mountains were, as far as Neji knew, the farthest any of the ninja had gone. From now on he was in unknown territory.

Neji gripped the scales in front of him as the dragon angled towards the mountains. The mountains were big and jagged, like rows of sharp teeth. They were topped with snow, and the air was suddenly much colder. Neji scanned the mountains, looking for shelter. Finally he spotted a small cave.

"To your left and a bit down." Neji said. "There's a cave."

Karmath nodded and swooped towards the cave. With a mighty plop the dragon landed inside the cave and folded his wings gracefully.

Neji grunted and went to jump off the dragon's back, but before he could Karmath snapped his neck back and with a single swift motion scooped Neji up in his mouth.

Neji bellowed and struck at the roof of the dragon's mouth. Karmath winced, but didn't let go. Instead he lowered his head to the ground and gently rolled Neji out of his mouth.

"Don't be stupid. You've kept up the tough guy act too long. Even I can tell you are on your last legs! Don't move." Karmath snorted angrily and rumbled out of the cave, muttering something about dumb humans. Also, something about "itch slapping" or something like that.

Neji lay there for a bit, not sure what that lizard was going to do. He soon discovered what the dragon intended when Karmath got back. Neji almost laughed at the sight of the huge beast trotting through the snow, a bundle of branches in his mouth. He looked like a dog carrying a stick!

Karmath dropped the branches on the cave floor and gathered them together in a huge pile. With small but steady breath the dragon lit the branches, making a big and warm fire.

Neji stared at the dragon in astonishment "Thanks." He pulled out one of the scrolls from his bag and summoned a blanket. He wrapped himself up and shuffled as close to the fire as he could. He felt better.

"You're as dumb as a brick, honeslty." Karmath muttered in a disgruntled tone as he nibbled at the ninja wire, tryhing to dislodge the puppets. "I really don't want these to say on me!"

"Does it hurt?" Neji asked.

"No, it's humiliating."

Neji laughed "Live with it then."

"Annoying human."

"Wait till you meet Guy sensei. You won't think I'm stupid and annoying then." Neji said.

"Oh, you mean there are some worse then you?" Karmath grunted.

"Much worse." Neji said. He was starting to get sleepy. Maybe it was the warmth.

"Sleep, idiot." Karmath's voice was starting to sound strange. Was it just Neji's imagination or was the beast starting to…fall apart? He was becoming more and more indistinct. "Even when I am in the gem I can watch over you."

Neji was going to say that this fact didn't make him feel any safer, but he was through trying to fight the sleep.

* * *

Neji floated along as the Fourth, Baki, Temari and Kankuro ran through the desert. Neji thought he even recognized the area. It looked similar to the place where they had met the  
Swooping Eagles.

As if summoned by this thought, a group of riders appeared over the horizon, galloping towards the ninja. Neji looked and recognized Kankuro's Uncle Jhimey, Katsu the Horse Mistress, and who Neji thought was a younger version of that Maro barbarian. But who were the other two? They looked like two young women, maybe thirteen years old, and but for their eyes the two of them were identical. One of them had green eyes similar to Jhimey's, and the other had pale Hyuga eyes.

"Brother!" Jhimey bellowed as he dismounted his horse. He hugged the Fourth, who stiffened and clenched his fists, tense and unsettled. Neji couldn't blame the man, no ninja really liked to be touched. It was clear that Iifernati were different though.

"Hello Jhimey." The Fourth said in a tone of infinite patience.

"And how are my niece and nephew, huh?" Jhimey leaned down and gave Knakuro the same treatment. Neji was amused to see that Kankuro reacted a bit like his father, but without the clenched fists. Jhimey also hugged Temari, who bore it with a bit less tension then the males of her family.

"Little Cub is still more ninja than anything else." The green-eyed girl said. "Come here and giver your big cousin a kiss, Kanky!"

"No way, Shrillia!" Kankuro ducked behind Temari "Save me!"

"Aww, the poor baby ninja is scared of affection!" The Hyuga-eyed sister giggled.

"Shrillia, Uama, don't be mean." Katsu said, coming over to the small cluster of youngsters.

"Hey, if he staying with us he needs to be more Iifernati!" Maro said from his horse. "Like me! I just got my first horse! What does he have!"

Uama giggled and walked over to Maro. With a swift motion she snagged Maro off his horse and gave him a firm noggie. Maro bellowed at the horse to save him, but the beast just gave him an amused look.

"Ha, I can beat you to that rock on foot!" Kankuro jumped out from behind Temari. "A horse can't beat a ninja!"

"Get off me, Uama!" Maro wiggled out Uama's grasp and jumped back on his horse "Ready whenever you are!"

"Oh, if you two insist!" Shrillia grumbled. "Okay." She walked over ot the two of them and made a line in the sand with her foot. "On the line, boys, and start at the count of three." She waited as Maro eased his horse to the line and Kankuro stepped up to it. "One, two, three!" Shrillia counted, and the two boys were off and racing.

Temari rolled her eyes "Boys."

"They'll be like that their entire lives, girls. Remember that." Katsu said with a fond look. "How have you been, Kitten?" Katsu turned to Temari.

Temari shrugged "Fine Aunt Katsu." She said as she watched her brother and cousin race.

"You're not upset about him staying longer then the week, are you?" Katsu asked.

"No." Temari said. "I like you and rest of the family, but I'd rather be home then out here in the wild with the scorpions and the lizards." Temari made a face.

Katsu sighed "I know, dear, I know."

Neji watched with amusement as Kankuro skidded just a step before Maro. Maro howled in anger, but for some reason it struck Neji as less like the hostile rage that had permeated his last encounter with Maro, and more like the natural objections of a child who had lost a race.

"Come on, let's get going." The Fourth said coldly. Jhimey shot his brother a pained look, but the Fourth either didn't see or didn't care. Instead he started away, and Jhimey sighed and followed him. The rest of them started to follow, Baki and Katsu in relative silence, while the kids clustered together, talking and occasionally laughing. For the first time since Neji had seen Kankuro at ease with his father around. Usually the boy was either scared of the Fourth or trying desperately to please him.

However that wasn't what held Neji's attention, not really. He couldn't remember seeing those two girls, who surely would have been women by now, at the camp of the Swooping Eagles. Where had they gone? And if they were really Jhimey's daughters, as Neji suspected, why had there been no sign of them at the camp?

Neji had a feeling that he wouldn't like the answer.


	60. Chapter 60

Chapter 60

The First Art

Sometimes, in the dead of night, Rock Lee wondered what he thought he was doing. Instead of playing out this charade shouldn't he be doing something? Maybe getting out of here and joining his real people? Sure Moreel might be his father, but Lee didn't feel any particular loyalty to him. His loyalty was to the Leaf, and it remained even now with the Leaf. Yet, for some reason, Lee stayed. He didn't know why, and indeed usually he didn't think about it. Sometimes he did, however those times were few and far between.

Perhaps that should have worried him.

Perhaps he should also have been worried of the fact that, around midnight or so, Lee would get the feeling that something was observing him. He couldn't see anything or sense any chakra, so he ignored it. Through careful training and concentration he had learned to sense chakra, though he knew that the people here couldn't, and indeed didn't seem to have any at all. He assumed that they did, but they were just so suppressed in this regard that it was like they had none at all. At least that was his theory. He would sense something though, and the thing always made him feel nervious and apprehensive, as if something very bad was going to happen. Usually not one to feel such depressed emotions Lee tried to ignore this, though in the dead of night it was hard not to feel a sense of impending dread. He also ignored the occasional odd dreams he was having. Dreams about something horned and hooved that hovered over his bed grinning at him. Or the dream where he thought he had woken up, looked over and saw a strange birdlike being sitting at the end of his bed, nodding at him and clicking its beak. However, the light of day usually drove these odd feelings and dreams away.

In the light of day, what light did penetrate the smog; Lee could ignore the feelings of dread and of being watched, and instead work on the task of learning about the Smoke. There was a lot to learn. Besides the terrible alphabet there was history according to the Smoke, their odd "science", a few popular legends that Billis was certain that Lee needed to know, though why anyone would care about the story of the wolf and grandma was a mystery to Lee, and math. Mathematics was the only thing that Lee was doing well in, as math was the same pretty much wherever you went. Language can vary, but two added to two shall always equal four. The only real problem was getting to understand what a person called one. But, that was more of a language problem then a math one.

"I have a bit of a treat for you, my boy." Billis said to Lee the morning of the third day of lessons. Lee was doing well so far, the energy usually dedicated to push ups and running now directed at books and learning. While Lee wasn't progressing at the speed that he did when doing physical effort, his dedication was still pulling him through. That still didn't mean that the Smoke made any more sense to him then they did before, but that was beside the point.

"What is it, sensei?" Lee asked excitedly. He did consider Billis a kind of teacher, if not on the level of Guy-sensei, and he couldn't get over calling him that. It was a habit that he couldn't seem to break, and to be fair it was one he didn't want to break. Billis didn't seem to mind it at all, though Moreel always looked mildly concerned every time Lee used it.

"What does that word even mean?" Moreel had grumbled at one point.

"It means teacher." Lee said, using the simplest and most direct translation. He wasn't going to go into deep detail. For one thing he doubted that Moreel would be able to grasp the complexities of the various suffixes used in his homeland. For another…well there was no need to tell him everything. It wasn't like Moreel was going to be learning his language, and in an odd way Lee half considered Moreel an enemy, though a part of him really didn't like the situation the more Lee got to know Moreel. That part was growing every day, and it was another thing that Lee found himself not thinking about.

Billis had given one of his rather odd little smiles and said "We can hardly expect him to drop his entire culture in a few days. Why, I know a shopkeeper at the corner who still uses several of his native words and he's been free and owning a shop for thirteen years!"

In the end Moreel hadn't complained any further, but Lee could tell that he didn't like it. Lee didn't really care about that. He was going to hold on to as much from his real home as he could. Even though, when he really really thought about it, there was no reason for him to stay. But again, when he started to think like that the thoughts would blow out of his head as soon as they had come. It was rather odd, but he didn't think about that either.

"I want to show you something, it might help with…certain subjects." Billis frowned a bit.

Lee did as well, but for different reasons. Part of the big problem he was having was why the Smoke seemed to be so against ninjutsu, or indeed any jutsu at all. From what Billis had taught him all of it was forbidden, all of it. Billis had never been able to explain exactly why, only that the Smoke believed that all "magic" was somehow dangerous. Lee, who had always wished for a better, less weak chakra network, couldn't comprehend this attitude at all.

"I'm going to show you exactly why we forbid magic. There's a museum not far from here. Perhaps some visual aids will help us." Billis said, and again gave Lee a rather odd look. Sometimes when he was given that look Lee had the feeling that Billis was not seeing him, but seeing someone totally different. Lee thought that, perhaps, it must have been his mother, and this unsettled Lee.

However, Lee went along with it. The museum was, as Billis had said, not that far from house that Moreel owned. It was a big place, reminiscent of that courthouse, only with more oddly shaped gargoyles looming over the buttresses.

The interior was split into three different wings, each with a different decretive plaque that, after some concentration Lee managed to decipher. The first on the left was called "Natural History." Lee didn't have any idea what the Smoke would deem "natural" and "unnatural" history. The wing in the middle, directly in front of you as you walked in, was called "Science". Lee was impressed. He never thought that he would be out classed in the art of not being subtle at all. The last wing was entitled simply "History."

Lee frowned "Why are there two history wings?" He asked.

Billis smiled "Natural history just means nature. There are things there like animal skeletons and stuffed trophies."

Lee frowned. He didn't really get that, but committed it to memory just the same, in case it was needed.

Lee followed Billis into the area marked as history (not the natural kind, though Lee now wanted to see what they meant for himself. He found that, at least in this case, the wing was divided into several sections, all with various titles over the doorways to tell you what led where. The doorways even had something from the exhibit itself outside them, as if to give an example of what you would find.

Lee's eye caught something and he stopped and stared. Outside one doorway labeled "Early Esspotiamin Empire" was a map. a map that, but for some lines being where they should not have been, could have been the Shinobi lands! Lee stopped following Billis to take a closer look. The map was old and tattered, and most certainly all wrong! In fact, according to this odd map, the Land of Wind not only encompassed its current boundaries, but also a large chuck of the Land of Earth, the Land of Fire and a few of the islands belonging to the Land of Water.

"I suppose that you would have noticed that." Billis said from behind him.

"Sensei, this map is wrong." Lee said.

Billis smiled. No, it's not. I suppose we can take a small peek. Come along."

Billis lead him through the doorway, and Lee stared at the artifacts in front of him. A primitive animal skin drum, some ancient tools made out of bone, a strange suit of armor made apparently out of thick bronze. There was a huge breastplate, decorated with a hammer backed by a sun symbol right there in the middle of the chest piece. Said chest piece stood on a metal stand, mimicking the form of a human. On top of the stand was a strange winged bronze helmet, a helmet that was shaped in a vaguely birdlike manor, as the tip of it appeared to be shaped almost like a beak. It had on its surface the symbol of a bird's claw, pointed downward to strike. The odd thing about it was that it was closed like a fist. Lee didn't think birds struck like that. There was a small metal shield lying at the armor's feet, and the shield was carved with a symbol of an eagle spreading its wings against a sun. The shield had been decorated with gems, so the sun glowed with yellow gems and the eagle's ruby eyes shined brightly.

"The Eagle Guard once whore this armor. They were the supposed to be the royal guard of the Emperor." Billis had an odd smile on his face. "Now their descendants wander around the desert and call themselves the Swooping Eagles. You see, the area you call Suna used to be part, and indeed was the origination point, of a rather large empire thousands of years ago. Indeed it was one of the first in the world, according to what little our people have found out about it."

"It didn't survive." Lee stated that much was obvious. "Why not?"

"Ah, that's a mystery. Some say that it simply collapsed under its own weight. Others believe that a series of natural disasters occurred and they simply couldn't handle it."

Lee gazed around the room, a bit overwhelmed. He vaguely remembered something taught at the Academy, something about the Wind being the traditional enemies of the Fire forever. He wondered if this empire predated the shinobi.

"Come on, this isn't what were here to see." Billis turned away and heading for the exit and Rock Lee shrugged and followed him.

Had Lee know anything about tailed beasts, and really the only thing he did know was that two of his friends had one inside them; he would have noticed that one of the rock carvings in the exhibit was a large tablet. On this tablet was a carved a large animal. It was hard to tell exactly what this animal was. It seemed to mix elements of ape, canine, bug, bovine and something slimy. It was standing above a pile of stick figure bodies from which faded red lines poured out. The ground beneath it was split in long lines.

This animal had ten tails.

A few moments later Lee found himself standing in front of a hallway with the title "A History of the Forbidden Arts". He felt extremely uneasy in front of this place. There was an odd feeling of dread about the place, a dread that seemed to seep into him, and he didn't like it at all. All of a sudden he felt that he wasn't going to ever feel happy again and that worried Lee a lot. Lee was not the best at looking for chakra, but he had trained himself to some sensitivity to it. Funny thing was, though he almost felt that he was in the middle of an odd type of genjutsu, he couldn't detect it. Of course it was not like he had Neji's eyes, but the fact that he consistently couldn't feel a single thing began to worry him, and the feeling was stronger around here. In fact, unless he was losing his mind, it appeared that his actual vision was being affected. For some reason when he was in this hall his vision seemed to dim. He didn't like it.

Billis, on the other hand, didn't seem to be affected by it. He walked right into the hallway, and Lee had no choice but to follow.

Like the other exhibit, this place seemed dedicated to presenting interesting things under large glass cases, though the things in here were different from the ancient Suna artifacts. In here there were rather horrible paintings of horned monsters, goo covered monkeyish monsters, winged eyeballs and black furred dogs with glowing red eyes. Most of these paintings depicted these monsters either dancing around campfires or eating people. One very disgusting painting depicted a robed man ripping the heart out of young woman and offering it to a flying bird standing in an inscribed circle on the ground. Beneath this painting on a pedestal was a knife similar to the one depicted in the painting. There were other, more physical exhibits as well. A little doll with long sharp pins pushed into the eyes. A spiky necklace that looked like it might be incredibly painful for the wearer. A little box with odd symbols carved on it. And, the worse of the lot, a dried and decayed corpse of a…a thing. A twisted thing that might have been a human with a pair of furry legs grafted to its waist, as well as a pair of horns and a mouthful of sharp teeth. It was about the size and length of Lee's forearm. Lee's eyes slide from one exhibit to the other; he was completely horrified by what he saw.

"This," Billis said "Is the ancient magical art known today as demonology. It, as well as its close relative, necromancy, has been forbidden for the past five hundred years. The museum curators are thinking of making a necromancy exhibit, but they haven't found enough artifacts to make it worth it."

Lee stared at the disgusting display on the walls, and then to Billis "I don't really understand. How does this tie in to ninja?"

"Because magic led to this." Billis pointed to the painting of human sacrifice. "Demonology is the study of the summoning of demons. The basic idea is to take the like of something, a cat, a bird or even a human being, and trading its life for the service of one of these otherworldly creatures known as demons. Demons would give them power and help them cast their spells. Necromancy is almost as bad. It's the raising of dead bodies and desecration of corpses. The power of necromancy is leeched from the dead themselves, usually through some sort of connection to the underworld. Generations ago our people practiced these horrible arts. It was a terrible time of slaughter and destruction. In the end our people stopped using magical altogether, and dedicated ourselves to science and free inquiry. The fact that your people use it is abhorrent to us."

"I see. I think I understand." Lee grinned at Billis, but inside he was thinking something very different. He knew chakra, and this demonology and necromancy were completely different. These things seemed to evil to him, and chakra was not evil. It could be used for evil things, but the power came from inside human beings, indeed from all life itself. In fact, the very fact that these people were alive was due to chakra…

All at once a horrible thought occurred to Lee. He knew he felt something similar to feeling of genjutsu, but with an added sense of dread and horror. What if this came from these forbidden arts? It didn't sound like these powers came from chakra. Lee wondered if this demon summoning power could interfere with chakra. And if that was the case, then did that mean that these twisted powers were not as dead as Billis claimed?

Lee managed to keep this thought in his head until they had actually left the museum, then it vanished, as if it had never been there at all. And that night he had a dream of those horned and beaked monsters laughing at him.

He didn't remember that in the morning either.


	61. Chapter 61

Chapter 61

Fate

The Sand and Leaf army had fallen back to the ruins of the ancient Spider Temple, where they had left the non-combatants of the tribes. They always insisted on following their warriors to war, though the children, elderly, and so forth, and they did serve a purpose. They keep the camp and made sure that, whether or not the army had suffered loss or achieved victory, that there would be food and place to sleep for the army. The fact that they could have seen an enemy coming from a mile away on that mesa helped to keep them safe. Unfortunately for one person coming back "safe" wasn't the word to describe him. "In the middle of an international incident" was a bit closer to the truth.

Hiashi never thought that he would feel so much killing intent from so many people at the same time. Not that he blamed any of them. He couldn't help but be disgusted at himself most of all. He had never allowed himself to become so distracted, save for a few times as a genin. What he had done was pretty much inexcusable, and he was ready to admit that. However, despite the anger aimed at him, most of the remains of the army weren't actively threatening him, save for the Swooping Eagles, who were even now advancing at him with many drawn weapons.

Though he could probably have fought them off, Hiashi didn't move, even when the entirety of the tribe started coming towards him immediately after the retreat to the mesa. Hiashi took to the time to note that none of the Sand ninja seemed inclined to do nothing, indeed Gaara practically stood there with a bland expression, and Hiashi go the feeling that the Kazekage was just going to stand there and stare as the Eagles ripped him apart. It was not a mob, there was no irrational screaming or shouting or weapon waving, the Eagles only advanced on Hiashi silently and in control, but everyone could tell what their intentions were.

The only ones not part of this little mob were Jhimey and Katsu, who were both arguing with Maro, who didn't look happy at all. However, since they were conversing in their own language, Hiashi had no idea if they were encouraging this or not.

The Eagles managed to get about five feet from Hiashi when the Leaf ninja stepped in, and very literally in fact. The Leaf portion of the army came, pretty much as a group, to stand next to Hiashi, though the Hyuga leader could feel a certain amount of dislike coming from his own people. He knew it would be useless to tell them to mind their own business, as a Leaf would never let someone kill one of their own no matter what the circumstance.

In the moment that the two groups stared at each other, Hiashi decided that he couldn't let the Leaf get into a fight with their allies over his mistake. He stepped forwards.

"I realize that my actions were unforgivable. If there is anything I can do to make reparations-"

"Do you realize how much of our kin have died!" one of the Eagles shouted. "We'll take that reparation out of your skin you-"

"Now, do you really think we'll let you do that?" Kakashi said mildly.

"Hold it!" To Hiashi's surprise Katsu, of all people, rode up and placed herself between the two groups. She bellowed something at them. None of the ninja knew quite what she said, but the Iifernati started to back away. Jhimey came over and roared at his tribesman in their language, which resulted in Katsu roaring alongside him, with the addition of a shaken fist as well. She occasionally gestured back at Hiashi, who had no clue what was going on.

One of the other Iifernati came up and started to point at first Hiashi, and then to Naruto, who bristled at the gesture.

Finally, Katsu trotted her horse over to Hiashi, totally ignoring the Leaf ninja that were even now pointing several weapons at her. She got down off the horse and marched over to Hiashi, who was determined not to move.

Hiashi, like most ninja, had a strictly defined area of personal space, which was about an arm's length away from him. So it was not that surprising that he tensed up the moment Katsu chose to invade said personal space. In fact, she got right in his face, a few bare inches from his nose. He didn't like that, not at all, but there was nothing in her body language that spoke of harmful intentions. In fact, she was the only one in ruins who didn't seem to have a single bit of killing intent towards him.

"What are you doing?" He hissed at Katsu.

"Saving your stupid hide." Katsu growled, and, to everyone shock, she basically planted her forehead against his own. Hiashi tried to pull away, but she grabbed the back of his head and growled "Stay."

If it were not for the fact that Katsu was, despite her actions, not acting in the least bit intimate, Hiashi would have mortified. In this case he was merely confused and embarrassed. He briefly wondered if he should perhaps shove her away. But, then it occurred to him that perhaps this was another one of the Iifernati's odd customs. What in the world the reason for this was a mystery to Hiashi. However, he know that they were much more physical people then ninja, hell they were more physical than an average Land of Fire citizen. He remembered the night he had observed their odd party habits. Not to mention to more subtle clues. In fact you really couldn't pry Katsu away from her husband, usually. For his part, Hiashi really, really hoped that this kind of…touching wasn't a prelude to something to off.

He activated his Byakugan, just to see what the rest of the Leaf ninja were doing. Most of them were gapping or whispering or both. However, he saw Tsume in the crowd, fuming and angry. Kuromaru had his mouth open and his tongue lolling. Hiashi remembered that was his version of a laugh. He made a mental note to skin the dog later. Hinata, somewhere in the back of the crowd, was looking at the ground with her hand over her eyes. Hiashi had a feeling that she was humiliated, either for him or because of him. He could also see the sand ninja, most of whom were whispering and occasionally giggling as well. In fact, unless Hiashi was mistaken, the Kazekage himself had a bit of an evil grin on his face. It was very clear that Gaara was enjoying this immensely.

A few moments later Katsu backed off and turned around. She seemed completely and utterly oblivious to the snickering coming from the ninja, Sand and Leaf alike. "Father!" She bellowed "Do you acknowledge it?"

Nori, who had been somewhere in the back of the crowd, came up over slowly and glared openly at Hiashi. Hiashi had no idea what was going on, but had a feeling that this was going to be a deciding factor.

Nori sighed "If this is what you want, Katsu. No one said I have to like my family members, after all." The man turned his gaze to Hiashi. "You…and I suppose your daughter as well. Come along then." Nori turned away, muttering in an annoyed tone.

Hiashi didn't move. Instead he glared at Katsu "What did you do?" he growled.

Katsu glared right back "Basically, once Father does a little ceremony, I just adoped you."

Hiashi sputtered "What!"

"It's either that, or let them tear you apart "She jabbed a finger in the general direction of the tribe, who were grumbling and walking away, clearly they were upset that they would not get to kill Hiashi now. "I don't know about you, but I don't think it would be helpful if we lost the other half of the damn army to infighting, do you?"

Hiashi relaxed a bit. That wasn't so bad. Sure he didn't like the Swooping Eagles that much, but he saw several political possibilities here, the most obvious being the fact that they had just averted a war. Except for the fact that now _everyone_ seemed to be snickering…

Hiashi didn't have time to ponder, because Katsu made another grab at his arm. Gently, but firmly, he deflected the motion. He got a little bit of perverse pleasure in seeing the woman puff up like those poisonous puffer fish. "Stop manhandling me." Hiashi growled."

Katsu's expression changed from anger to amusement in two seconds. She laughed "If you really think that a simple touch is 'manhandling' your kind are more messed up in the head then I thought!" She turned and started to follow the path her father had taken. She looked over and laughed again. "Bring your daughter with us. Might as well do this right."

Still not very sure that he understood what they were doing, but confident that he had read the woman's intentions correctly, Hiashi followed. He nodded at Hinata to come, and to his relief she did so, even though she was apparently looking at the sky, and possibly rolling her eyes as well.

Was it just Hiashi's imagination, or was she becoming more and more disrespectful to him?

The Swooping Eagles had set up their tents near the Temple, on the north side to be exact. Hiashi noted the fact that, while whatever Katsu had done had resulted in the Eagles backing down, most of them were still giving Hiashi nasty glares. Hiashi simply held his head high and walked on, not acknowledging the hostility. He marched to the tent he saw Katsu disappearing in. Hiashi could see that Jhimey and Nori were there already. The two of them were sitting on the ground. A small bowl was in Nori's hand, and he was shaking it and peering into it. Hiashi had no idea what that was for. No doubt some odd ritual was in store for them.

"Unless their demands are unreasonable, we shall comply with them." Hiashi said quietly to Hinata, who just nodded wordlessly. Together they stepped into the tent.

Nori looked up from his bowl, the glasses he used for when he was reading signs perched almost comically on his nose. He glared at both Hyuga with equal malice.

"Neither of you have any clue what this means to us." He hissed.

"I am willing to listen to whatever you have to say." Hiashi, in order to show his willingness to cooperate with the tribesman, knelt down, in the style of a Land of Fire citizen. He noted the fact that Nori sat with his legs crossed, and Katsu and Jhimey simply knelt down on one knee. He felt Hinata copy him, and wondered how odd the group looked together.

"Listening doesn't work if you brain can't handle the information." Nori said dismissively.

"Father, please. Be reasonable." Katsu said.

"Oh fine." Nori shouted. He looked at Hiashi "I don't know what you consider family, Hyuga-"

"My clan is my family." Hiashi said. Nori tossed a small rock at him, which Hiashi dodged. He had to remind himself that he was in the middle of a foreign camp where, though he could fight them off, such actions would be seen as war. He did shoot Nori his own killing glare.

"Pay attention, boy." Nori said, and Hiashi resisted the urge to hurt the man. "I see you treat your own daughter like a dog. I've heard how you treated your brother's son little better. I admit that I know very little of your kind. Perhaps these gaping holes in your families are normal, but to the Iifernati it is abhorrent. Now, before this war began, your daughter came to us. Not only did my son refrain from killing her or driving her off, he welcomed her. He declared her a relation, and said that her and hers are welcome amongst us. What she, and indeed what you, don't realize is that is only a one of the many ways the Iifernati sees family."

"What does this have to do with the situation?" Hiashi said. He tried to keep a handle on his temper as he gripped his elbows underneath the long sleeves of his robes. None of the others could see him do this.

"Basically." Jhimey raised his hand and looked at Nori, who nodded at him "We see family differently. To us blood relation is important, but not enough. We are close to our kin. We let them in where normal people are not. You no doubt have seen how we are often physically close to one another. To us that designates a close familial bond, and it's one of the reasons my father thinks that you treat your daughter…strangely. We have never seen you hug her or even be close to her. It's unnatural to us. You act like she is a stranger."

As one the two Hyuga turned their heads and looked at each other. To Hiashi's relief he could see the same puzzlement in Hinata's eyes. "Again, what is the point here?" Hiashi turned back to the tribesman.

Katsu shifted a bit "Before now we knew that we…that I, was related to your kind by blood, but you were not family. Not really. If you had come to our camp not a year ago we would have either ignored you or killed you. To us you were a threat to our freedom. When Jhimey acknowledge Hinata as kin…he basically ended that policy towards you Hyuga. Under that declaration on your kind could approach a Swooping Eagle camp and ask for shelter or water, and we would give it. However, you would be known as distant kin. We would help you, but little more than that. If you did something…incredibly stupid to us…caused the deaths of our tribesman, then our people would try to kill you, as they just did now. However…"

Nori sighed and stared up at the tent ceiling "By coming into your personal space, by acting as it you and she were close, Hyuga…she changed how we view you. Now, in the eyes of the tribe, you are close kin to one of ours. That means that, unless Katsu, Jhimey or myself reject you, you cannot be killed by a Swooping Eagle."

Hiashi looked at Katsu "Why would you do this?" He asked. It was a relief to learn that the Eagles didn't go around groping everyone, just family. Hiashi suppressed a shudder at the double innuendo there. Why did his mind insist on going to these places?

Katsu laughed "I'm no fool. If my people were to kill you they would have to deal with the Leaf. We can't deal with the Leaf and the Smoke."

Hiashi nodded. He wanted to make sure that fact was plain. He looked back at Nori "So, what must be done now?"

"Nothing much, I really only wanted you in my tent to explain things to you." Nori grumped "But, seeing as how they will clamor for it, I might as well check your destiny in the tribe. Not that you'll have to have that much to do with us. We do ask that you occasionally drop in and interact with us…"

Hiashi tried not to grimace "I do hope you don't mean those parties you do every night."

Nori nodded. "Those are important, families do things like that. But, for right now, give me your hands, both of you."

Hinata was a bit faster to give the strange man her hand. Nori grimly took a knife and made a very small nick on her finger. He dripped a little of the resulting blood in the bowl and then poured some sand from the ground into the bowl. He blew on the sand, and apparently looked at the patterns it made. Hiashi tried to keep his temper though this.

Nori looked at the sand, and then looked at Hinata "You shall be a Wind Mistress. You shall bring the Last King's most faithful companion back from the grave. Interesting. Didn't expect that from a Leaf villager. Ah well."

Hiashi blinked "Her element is not wind." He knew this himself. He had tested her, though the Hyuga didn't use elemental chakra he had still had her checked. Her element was water.

"That's not what I'm talking about." Nori said, but he explained no further. Instead he turned the glare back at Hiashi "Now you."

Reasoning that this would get him out of here faster, Hiashi offered his hand. Nori repeated the process. However, instead of the almost casual disinterest he expressed in Hinata, Nori looked at the bowl, removed his glasses and squinted. He placed the glasses back on his nose then looked up at Hiashi with an odd expression on his face. There was a quiet, silent rage, but also a great deal of tired resignation. "You, Hyuga." Nori's voice trembled "You will be the death of my daughter's husband."

"What!" Katsu jumped up and stared at her father.

Nori sighed "Damn it…I hope it's a long time coming…and I hope you don't do something foolish, Hyuga. Now get out of my tent. All of you." Nori stared down at the bowl. The man looked dejected and upset, and almost already in mourning.

Hiashi wanted to say something, anything, but no words seemed good enough. Instead he stood up and faced Jhimey "I hope you understand, that I would never do anything to-"Hiashi started, but Jhimey shook his head.

"His predictions are never wrong. Never." Jhimey began to walk out of the tent, never looking back at anyone else.

Katsu, a look of rage on her face, walked up to Hiashi "You are coming to the celebration tonight."

"But-" Hiashi started, but Katsu cut him off.

"I don't care when it happens, but you are not going to dishonor my tribe now that you are a part of it. Not if you daughter is among the chosen. Not if you shall be the death of my husband. Whether it is for you or because of you, you will not dishonor my husband." Katsu gave a polite nod to Hinata then stomped out after her husband.

Hiashi might have debated the issue, but the look on Nori's face as the old man stared into the bowl stopped him. Turning, Hiashi followed the other two out of the tent. He felt like he had been punched. He had always believed in fate…but this…

Was it true? Was he fated to kill Jhimey?


End file.
